My College Romantic Comedy Had Horror As A Subgenre, As Expected
by smilingsamurai
Summary: Hikigaya Hachiman, age 19. After a difficult high school life, he makes it into the Literature course at one of the best institutes in the country. Everything changes when he meets his beautiful new classmate, who is nothing like anyone he has ever known before. Can things be looking up for Hikigaya? Or is destined for a Bad End? (Slight AU, Yandere Yukino)
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Silence enveloped the room, tight as a chokehold. The atmosphere was heavy. Cold. I panted, half expecting to see my own breath. I couldn't move, or speak. Frozen like a statue, I could only stare at the person in front of me.

She was human, or at least, she should have been. The rational part of me reminded that she was. It did so frantically, saying it again and again, as if desperate to cling to some concrete fact that would tie her down to the comfortable, mundane reality I was familiar with. But one can't always do that. Some things don't fit. Can't be moulded to conveniently adapt to one's perceptions.

She was slender, and sat with a posture of grace. Despite her lean build, the contours of her body curved, revealing a wonderfully feminine form that made the blood rush to my cheeks… and another part of me. I noticed right away that her skin was pale, almost inhumanly so, as if she were made of living ice. Her face had sharp, yet delicate features, soft lips parted just slightly in a questioning look. Set in that beautiful, pale face, was a pair of blue eyes that seemed to be staring right into me.

What was with that gaze? I hadn't locked eyes with someone like her since… well, ever. Normally, people avoided eye contact with me. Even when they were forced to make it, they looked away quickly. That was just a consequence of the way my eyes looked, and I had accepted long ago that it wasn't going to change. And yet, here this ice-princess like girl was, able to effortlessly look at me without the slightest flinch.

Was it just courage? Maybe she wasn't scared of me at all. Or maybe she just didn't consider me a threat. Whatever the reason, she looked at me curiously, if a little guardedly. Just because she wasn't afraid didn't mean she was happy about my sudden intrusion into the room.

As transfixed as I was, I forced myself to break out of the trance. This silence couldn't stretch on any further.

"Pardon the intrusion," I said, surprised by how steady my own voice sounded. "I was told this is the Literary Analysis class."

I looked around the room pointedly. It was empty besides the two of us, I tried to say with that gesture.

The girl finally spoke, and her voice was soft but in no way timid. Her pronunciation was clear, her grammar flawless.

"You were told so correctly."

She was still on guard, however. Though relaxed, I could almost feel an underlying tension from her, as though she could suddenly spring to her feet.

She was already aware that this was the Literary Analysis class, and didn't seem in any way surprised or perturbed at the fact that until a moment ago, she had been alone here… till I had walked in.

Were we not having class today? But that didn't make any sense: today was the first day of term, and in any case, if we weren't having class, there shouldn't be any reason for this girl to be here, in her seat.

The number of possibilities were endless, but there was only one that seemed to possess any appreciable level of probability.

Throat feeling slightly dry, I wondered what to do.

This girl was making me feel quite nervous, which in itself was a weird feeling, since I hadn't had a reaction like that to a woman since middle school. Moreover, she was eerily silent, not doing anything to fill up the silence that stretched between us. Normally, one would utter any number of empty statements to remove the awkwardness of the situation. Yet, she had done nothing of the sort, seeming content to simply watch me struggle with my thoughts. At the same time, she had answered when I had spoken to her.

I decided to take the risk a second time.

"Would I be correct in saying we are the only two students enrolled in this class?" I asked.

Her expression never changed, remaining guarded and perfectly neutral as she answered.

"You would."

_Great. _

I had always wanted to avoid crowds whenever possible, and but this was honestly too much. In fact, this was worse than a crowd. When there are enough people, it's possible to blend in and become invisible, since everyone is too busy focusing on others. However, if there were only two people in class, such a tactic becomes impossible.

Feeling uneasy, I pulled one of the chairs back, creating some leg room, before sitting down. The seat I took was across the classroom from her, leaving plenty of space between us.

The minutes ticked by, and no one else came. Assuming the teacher was going to be late, I took out a book from my bag, and flipped to the page where I had stopped last time. I read a few sentences, but was unable to relax into the calm, receptive state I normally entered while reading.

Instead, I felt a continuous sense of something in progress, awaiting attention. It wasn't the book.

As interesting as the adventures of the latest schmuck to be hit by Truck kun were, the girl sitting across the room from me had a firm hold of my thoughts.

I snuck a glance at her, out of the corner of my eye, and nearly felt my heart pop out of my chest when I saw her eyes staring right into mine, wide and blank. It was so sudden, and so incredibly uncanny, I immediately looked away.

This proved to be the wrong decision.

I had chosen the most childish way possible of dealing with it: if I can't see it, it doesn't exist. Of course that's not how it works. She was still there, whether I chose to acknowledge that fact or not. And since I was too terrified to actually look in her direction, I had basically created Scrodinger's Ice Queen. Until I actually checked, she was both staring into my soul, and not staring into my soul.

_Calm down, Hachiman._

Surely I was exaggerating the situation in my own mind?

Let's think about this rationally.

It makes me feel pathetic to acknowledge, but I think the truth is that for a virgin loner such as myself, who has spent several years actively avoiding girls, the stimulation of that unabashed, completely focused glare was simply too much. She was probably just one of those girls who had none of the typical nervousness, and thus had no issues looking right at someone. And my unprepared mind had distorted that into some twisted image of a pair of dead eyes glancing at me with all the focus of a psychopath.

I was imagining things.

Of course I was.

I took a deep breath. This really was pathetic. I should have listened to Komachi, and at least made an effort to get used to talking to girls a little. Then I wouldn't be on the verge of a panic attack just from this.

She probably wasn't even looking at me, right?

I glanced at her.

_Wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong._

She didn't seem to have moved even an inch, her wide eyes still glaring at me.

_Okay, I definitely wasn't imagining things._

I was extremely unnerved now.

Every rational part of me was screaming at me to run for my life.

It didn't even matter that I'd end up looking like an absolute idiot if someone saw me. Something about this girl screamed danger.

I closed my book and began to put it into my bag, only for her to speak.

"_Why did you close that book?"_

_What?_

I gulped slightly, and ran a quick calculation in my mind.

If I were to shove the book into the bag and just run for the door, would I be able to make it out? She was between me and the exit, but she was still sitting, and judging by her poise, didn't seem the sort to hurry to stop someone.

Even as I thought this, my eyes involuntarily glanced towards her long, snow white legs. Lithe and sinuous, they were firm with muscle, bespeaking athleticism.

I might not look it, but I was actually decently fit. Still, I did not really fancy my chances against someone like that, especially considering the stat boost she was likely receiving from Mad Enhancement.

In other words, I had a feeling it would end extremely badly for me if I tried running away now.

Stuck without a means of escape, I decided to talk, just to keep myself alive.

"Er… because I lost interest in it," I said, going with the first thing that came to mind. It wasn't entirely a lie. It was a typical Isekai light novel, the sort I'd read a lot in school. As I'd gotten older, I'd started to lose interest in them. I'd bought this one several months back, and hadn't finished it yet.

My reply caused her to raise an eyebrow danerously.

"Why?" she asked. Her tone seemed slightly more relaxed than before though, and I took that as a sign that she wouldn't rush at me with a knife or something. Yet.

"Well, I said, "It's pretty poorly written. The plot lacks logic and consistency. The characters don't have a shred of realism to them, and the only way anyone would consider them believable was if they were deliberately deluding themselves. This is obviously written to pander to some tastes, and this is about the only thing it does, at the cost of everything else."

My rushed explanation seemed to pacify her to some extent.

She closed her eyes, nodding slightly. When she opened them again, they had reverted to normal again, once more the eyes of the beautiful, unapproachable girl I had seen when I had first entered the room. Except, she wasn't unapproachable anymore.

She couldn't be, right?

After all, we were talking now.

Tilting her head to one side in an unintentionally cute gesture, she looked slightly perplexed.

"I see. That certainly doesn't sound interesting. But… why would you obtain a book like that in the first place?"

_Urgh!_

Her innocent question scored a critical hit right away.

I couldn't very well come out and say that I had first gotten into Isekai novels as a horny high schooler who had very well accepted that any sort of real world relationship was impossible for him, and it was easier in any case to live in a fantasy world. One where I was holding all the cards, and could have everything I wanted.

That was the whole idea of the "rank average MC who gets overpowered just to be a good self-insert" trope.

Most of these protags didn't even have really good reasons to be overpowered. Sure, there were circumstantial issues at work. In a magic-based story, an MC might have a rare natural power. Or in a science fiction story, they might be dosed with a super serum.

But these things are a matter of chance. Things which these characters have no control over. It doesn't make them compelling, or interesting. Those traits would have to come from themselves. But of course, in order for them to be that way, they would need to have actual personalities. Which would in turn prevent them from being blank slates that the reader could project themselves on to.

The whole basis of the Isekai genre, or the new power fantasy tropes, seemed to be a completely average, ordinary guy somehow ending up with incredible power through no merit of his own. Oftentimes, he gets it purely because of the help he receives from others, notably the female characters, who, of course, have no real reason to be close to him either, other than forced plot progression. Even the work the MC does put in, isn't really exceptional compared to the efforts of the many other characters who would realistically exist in those worlds. One could certainly argue that it was more important to work smart than to work hard, but it didn't really apply to these MCs, who weren't that smart to begin with. Which, of course, leads us to the fact that the really effective methods they use aren't devised by themselves, but by other, more capable characters, who are in the story to play a supporting role.

All of which led back to point I was trying to make.

The point that really rankled, and annoyed me, now that I was an adult, and now that I had made some efforts to get somewhere in life, and managed to make it into college. I'd had to work both smart and hard to get here. My parents and sister had helped. But there had been no handouts.

It annoyed me, that even in fiction, there could exist people who were just _handed_ gifts that others had fought, clawed, toiled, strained, bled, suffered, studied and worked for.

It annoyed me that a bunch of unmotivated, weak, lazy scrubs at life could achieve power and success and everything else for no good reason.

And it annoyed me that I had ever subscribed to such a shitty genre.

Maybe that was why I found it easy and natural to criticize the book I had hurriedly put away.

"A surprisingly well-thought out, logical and personal analysis, I must say."

The girl nodded, seemingly in agreement with me, and I realized, to my horror, that I must have been thinking out loud.

I began to sweat as I wondered exactly how much of my internal monologue had been, well, not internal. How much had she heard?

"Oh, I heard enough," she said, and I realized I must have said that part out loud too.

I was embarrassed enough at this point that I was half hoping the murderous side of her would emerge and just finish me off so I wouldn't have to live with this shame.

Before anything of the sort could happen, however, a bell rang, loud and clear.

It took a while for me to realize, but eventually, I understood what it was: the bell signalling the end of the class.

It was such an unlikely, yet welcome reminder of the world outside this classroom.

And this reminder of the outside world somehow seemed to shatter the suspended reality I had been trapped in.

The girl rose to her feet, picking up her bag.

"This was an interesting analysis. I look forward to something similarly stimulating tomorrow."

I blinked. This was it, then?

She was actually leaving?

I somehow survived.

But now that it had come to this, I was surprised to note that I was disappointed that my time with her was already over.

As terrifying as it had been… had I really enjoyed it?

As she reached the door, I couldn't help but ask.

"Hey. I'm Hikigaya Hachiman. I… did not get your name."

She turned around at the door, her expression still unreadable, but the tiniest hint of a crack in her ice-like aura.

"Yukinoshita Yukino," she replied.


	2. Chapter 2

"_Hikigaya. Hikigaya Hachiman."_

_The one who had uttered those words had her face scrunched up in a look of mild confusion, bordering on bewilderment, as she looked at me. I waited patiently, a desk separating me from her, as she studied me, somewhat like a forgotten wall painting one discovers while cleaning an attic._

"_You're in 3F? I don't think I've ever seen you before."_

_I shrugged indifferently. This wasn't entirely unexpected. I had heard it many times during my three years at this school. Always, it had been accompanied by a feeling of relief. I had no desire to be known, after all._

_Patient still, I waited for her to give me what I had come for, so I could be on my way._

_She seemed to realize this, and the fact that she was making me wait. Quickly, she leafed through a stack of papers, and separated a few of them, held together by a clip. Taking a stamp, she held it above the top page for a moment._

_This was it, then._

_The end of my three years of high school._

_Despite everything. Despite all that I'd told myself, all that I'd cultivated and carefully honed. All that I'd reminded myself time and again was real, and unchanging._

_Who I was, and my place in the world._

_Despite all that, for just a moment, I felt a twinge of something._

_I couldn't really tell what it was._

_The woman holding the stamp up in the air, like my future waiting to descend on me, looked at me for a moment._

_I wondered if there was something wrong. Had I made a mistake filling in any of the forms? Worst case scenario, had there been an error in the evaluation of my tests?_

_As my mind raced, considering possibility after possibility, the woman spoke._

"_These are good results, you know. Top five in the school academically. Top ten in the physical assessments. Says here you were briefly a replacement on the tennis team."_

_I nodded. All this was known to me. I didn't really see the point of bringing it up now._

"_I feel like I should know someone like you. Yet, I just can't seem to place you."_

_I saw where this was going. She was trying to be kind, perhaps because this would be our last time meeting. While she did not remember me, I remembered her quite well. The school guidance counsellor, who I'd seen a few times when the errands of submitting various stacks of forms for the class had been dumped on me. _

_I had no need of kindness like that. I was perfectly content with my lot in life, and perfectly content being unknown. People were… trouble. And knowing them was troublesome. A life lived by oneself was free of complications. Free of unnecessary burdens and trappings. I was free to be me._

_So I decided to use one of my 108 Skills._

_No. 11: The Brushaway._

_Faking a smile, I waved my hand._

"_Ah, it's okay. I've got one of those forgettable faces, hahaha."_

_By making light of it, I acknowledge her kindness and show her that it's unnecessary at the same time, while also giving her no reason to keep that stamp pending any longer._

_She seems to realize my indirect cue, but to my surprise, doesn't respond by immediately stamping my high school graduation certificate._

_Instead, she smiles, just a little._

"_You should take a risk sometime, and reach out. One day, you'll regret it if you don't."_

_She brought the stamp down, before handing the papers to me._

"_Goodbye, Hikigaya. Have a bright future ahead."_

"_Thanks, Sensei. Goodbye."_

I woke up. The sound of a familiar tune registering in my ears. It was distasteful enough that it managed to rouse me from my sleep enough to reach out swipe my phone to turn off the alarm. Having done so, I collapsed back onto my futon again.

It was that old dream again. Well, to be honest, it was a memory. Sometimes, I dreamt of it. It was bittersweet. Yet, I allowed myself to experience that bittersweetness for a while. This was one of the few times of the day when I could really feel. So, for a while, I allowed myself to drift inside that feeling.

Before long, however, it started to fade, as I became more and more wakeful.

At this point, a slight introduction to my living situation might be in order.

Two months back, I shifted out of home and took up residence in a small rented flat close to my university. It's a decent apartment, clean and sufficient for my needs. To meet my expenses, I work the evening shift at a local grocery store. Annoying customers, and a boss who's pretty much the living excrement of the world. Standard for the service industry. Standard for most professions, come to think of it.

And I study Literature at the prestigious Tokyo University.

So that I can one day get some kind of editorial job where once more I'll have to deal with annoying writers, and a boss who's also the living excrement of the world.

It isn't wrong to say that I hate my life. Still, one has to live, one way or another. What has to be done has to be done, and there's no point grumbling about it.

On the bright side, I don't expect to enjoy any of this either, so at least I'm not disappointed.

Still doesn't lessen this feeling of dread.

As I got up to begin my morning routine, I remembered that I had met a certain person the previous day.

Long black hair, pale skin, icy blue eyes.

_Yukinoshita Yukino._

That is what the mysterious girl revealed to be her name.

_Who are you?_

I couldn't help but wonder. As I showered, our meeting and conversation from the day before played out in my thoughts. The entire situation had been strange. To begin with, what sort of class has only two students enrolled in it? I can understand that Literary Analysis might not be everyone's cup of tea. After all, given its subjective nature, there was no guarantee that you'd get a score, and a low one would only bring your overall grade down.

But that simply wasn't a reason for there to be only two students from the entire first year in that class. The simple reason was that I was personally aware of several students (who I shared classes with) whose grades were higher than my own. While I had been in the top five at Soubu High, here, I was barely able to stay in the top fifteen, which should give some idea of the level of competition I was facing.

Certainly, grammatical skill, knowledge of classic and modern literature, command over the language, and the ability to do research all contributed towards being a good student in my field. They did not necessarily mean, however, that one would have the ability to draw coherent conclusions about the world, or even about books, from that store of knowledge.  
Yet, in my brief conversations with my classmates, I had discovered there were several of them who possessed this ability.

It seemed strange that none of them had also chosen Literary Analysis as a subject.

It seemed strange that the only other person besides me was an eerily beautiful girl who had the blank eyes of a killer.

No, I'm considering the situation the wrong way.

Perhaps it would be more apt to say that it is strange that the only other student in that class apart from a girl who seemed to be the definition of perfect, was me.

Most boys would have taken that fact to mean something other than what it did. Assign it some sort of higher significance. Most likely even believe that it's "fate" that they ended up alone in a class with a girl like that. Heck, forget high schoolers. There are plenty of college students who'd think the same.

But I, of course, was not one of them.

Where they saw potential romance, I only saw a situation that seemed… contrived.

Again, perhaps there are those who would take that as a sign that this was all some kind of joke, and laugh it off.

As for me?

I found it disturbing.

Having finished with taking a shower, I got dressed and had a quick breakfast before locking my apartment behind me as I set out for the day's classes.

The campus was a short walk from my apartment, and I reached it with time to spare.

Classes started fairly early at the university. It was half an hour past eight, and there were already a good number of people scattered throughout the grounds, some headed to the various buildings, others simply lounging around on the benches or the grass. Ignoring them, I proceeded on my way.

While I did occasionally speak to people, things hadn't really changed much since high school for me. I hadn't suddenly become popular (lol), and I certainly hadn't made any friends. I was what I had always been: a loner who was sure of where he was going, and the path he had to take to get there.

In other words, I had neither the time nor inclination for pointless interactions, and it was a good thing I didn't have to deal with any. Nobody shot me a second glance as I passed them by, heading to the room where I needed to be.

The first half passed by in a blur. I paid attention, taking notes where necessary. Because of my job, I couldn't really study in the evenings on weekdays, so the only way to keep up was to take classes seriously, and absorb everything I could. That, and a lot of self study during the weekends were how I was able to cope with the course.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the second of the day's lessons.

So far, we'd had Modern Japanese History (a non-optional additional subject), and Popular Literature.

Slightly tired after all the writing I'd had to do to jot down everything of importance, I put my books away and decided to go have lunch at the cafeteria.

There was one other subject I had today, though it wasn't for another hour.

_Literary Analysis._

Come to think of it, no teacher had shown up the previous day either. There was definitely something wrong with that.

Yet, I had filled in a form in order to enroll for the class, and I'd submitted it and even received a stamped acknowledgement from the University office itself. There was no doubt the paperwork was legit.

Yet, the actual happenings…

I shook my head.

Too many questions, no answers. For a moment, I wondered if I should go to the office and ask about it. Yet, that was a hassle. My policy, as ever, was to avoid unnecessary work. In the event of this class being a hoax, I'd simply use the stamped acknowledgement sheet from the University to secure the credit I would have otherwise received.

Feeling slightly better with that thought, I entered the cafeteria.

Having ordered a yakisoba bread, I made my way over to a table, where I took a seat alone and started to eat. As I did this, I observed the people all around me. A habit I had picked up around the end of middle school, and one I still possessed.

In their wanderings, my eyes landed on a familiar face, one I had not expected to see for another hour.

Raven black hair, pale skin, icy blue eyes.

This was Yukinoshita Yukino.

In contrast to how I had seen her the previous day, her hair was tied back, and she was also wearing glasses. Yet, there was no doubt this was the same person. None at all.

The aloofness was still there. But in place of the confidence and poise I had seen, there was now… timidness. Her body language indicated caution. If she had been guarded yesterday, she was defensive today.

Shoulders hunched up and drawn in, head down, legs clamped together.

It was incredible to think that the formidable, even terrifying girl I had met earlier, the one I had believed could realistically be some sort of insane killer, was the same person as the one I was seeing now.

It didn't take long to see the reason why she looked so uncomfortable.

On a neighbouring table was a group of three girls, one of whom was periodically rolling paper plates into balls and throwing them at her.

_Oi oi, this isn't high school. Aren't you a little old to be pulling shit like that?_

Yet, it was happening, right in front of me.

And Yukinoshita, instead of doing what I would have imagined she'd do judging by what I'd seen yesterday, was simply sitting there, taking it, as she tried to have lunch.

Truthfully, I didn't have a stake in the matter.

I believe I've said it before, but I dislike having to do anything that isn't strictly necessary. Society in general has never gone out of its way to help me. As a result, I don't go out of my way to help others.

This was none of my business, and I had no reason to interfere.

That's what the logical side of me kept saying.

Yet, before I knew what I was doing, I found myself walking towards the table where the trio sat.

Telling them directly to stop would make the situation worse. It might create a lot of inconvenient misconceptions if people saw me as trying to help Yukinoshita.

Thus, I simply pretended not to notice what was happening, and timed it so that I walked past their table at the exact moment the girl threw her next projectile.

The crumpled piece of paper harmlessly bounced off my face, but it gave me an excuse to look at the trio.

The one who had thrown it had an "oops, that didn't go as planned" expression on her face, which relieved me. She wasn't a hardened bully, just a general asshole.

I picked up the paper ball and held it out to her.

"I think you dropped something."

"Eh? Uh, that's… definitely not ours."

"It's not? Ah, that's okay, then. Never mind. Wonder whose it is, then."

The three of them definitely didn't seem happy.

"No clue. Sorry, we have to be on our way."

With that, the three of them beat a hasty retreat. I thought I heard something along the lines of "tch, he ruined it", but I decided to ignore that.

By pretending I didn't know they had thrown that ball, I had started a conversation. By keeping the conversation going past the point where it should have ended, I had successfully managed to scare them off. Nobody really wants to waste time talking to a loner, especially one with my eyes.

Sigh.

Ah, well.

Mission successful.

I shoot a glance at Yukinoshita, who shoots a glance back.

Her normally emotionless eyes are slightly wider than usual.

And… in stark contrast to yesterday, they were glittering.

"Hey, are you all right?"

She nodded and looked away.

_Guess she must not be comfortable getting helped by a complete stranger. That's okay. No point in staying and making her feel even more uncomfortable._

"I see. Well, I'll be on my way then.

As I walked away, there was no doubt that my mind was preoccupied with how weird her behaviour was. It had been a certain kind of weird yesterday, and the exact opposite today.

I didn't understand her at all. And what I had done today wasn't a lasting solution to the fact that she was being bullied.

Yet, for now at least, it was over.

Thinking thus, I continued to walk away, unaware that the pair of eyes that had glistened moments ago were now blank, and staring… right at me.


	3. Chapter 3

As I walked away from the cafeteria, I realized that I'd soon be meeting the very same person I just parted with moments ago. After all, the next class, and the last one for the day, was Literary Analysis. The thought was late in coming to me, although it wouldn't really change anything, even if it had occurred to me earlier. I don't think I would have stuck around and waited to walk to class with that person.

She had looked so uncomfortable. So unlike the side of herself that she had showed the previous day. Gone was the formidable visage and aura of an ice queen. Instead, there was simply a girl who was scared, unable to fight back. Someone being pushed around, stepped on. It was impossible to reconcile those two personas, unless the version of her I had seen before was simply a facade. Was that it, then? Had it simply been an act? But that didn't make any sense. I was an absolute nobody. She had nothing to gain from presenting a powerful image to me.

And also… there was a part of me, my instincts, which told me what I had seen before had _not_ been an act.

And so, the question remained unanswered.

Who was Yukinoshita Yukino?

I did not know.

She was hard, no, impossible to read. Something about her was definitely different from most people. It set off many warning bells in my system. A part of me was sure she was dangerous. But it seemed impossible that someone so meek and timid could be a danger to anyone.

I shook my head.

I didn't understand her at all.

While I seek understanding whenever and wherever I can and feel inclined, there are times when even I realize that it's best to let sleeping dragons lie. Something about Yukinoshita told me I should give her a wide berth. And normally, I would have been content to do exactly that.

I've never considered myself the heroic type, and I very much doubt I'd put myself in danger to save anyone else. I doubt I'd even inconvenience myself to do anything of the sort. Yet, that reasoning notwithstanding, I had willingly intervened and helped her just a while ago.

And… despite all the warnings, I _had _enjoyed our conversation yesterday.

Perhaps that was what bothered me most of all. That even knowing everything, I still wanted to talk to her.  
The remaining minutes of the break passed by agonizingly. I was nervous, but I wanted to see her again, that mysterious girl.

I made my way up the stairs. The corridor in which the room was located was empty. Interestingly, it had been so even yesterday. I wondered if Literary Analysis was the only active class held here. Once more, there was another fact that seemed too convenient to be a coincidence.

Yet, as I passed by the empty classrooms, I couldn't help but feel peaceful. There was something soothing about the silence, about the absence of so many loud, obnoxious people who'd writhe and shove against each other like so many agitated snakes in a barrel.

I arrived at the room to find, to my surprise, that Yukinoshita was already there.

Well, I had taken a roundabout way to get to the class, so it wasn't inconceivable that she'd reach first.

Yet, seeing her there already somehow took my breath away for a moment.

She was sitting in the same chair as she was last time.

And once more, as before, her gaze turned towards me.

But unlike then, this was not the unapproachable ice queen.

It was a girl who could be vulnerable.

At the very least, she had been, moments ago.

Right now, she was still guarded. I could see that, in her posture, in her expression. The subtle tension of the muscles around her eyes, showing caution, focus. Yet, the position of the brow, and the dilation of the pupils… showed something unmistakeable.

I've seen it many times, but almost never directed at me. Come to think of it, has anyone outside my family ever looked at me with _that_?

So seeing it now, it almost seemed like time seemed to stop.

And in that frozen world where nothing changed, there was just the two of us.

Yukinoshita Yukino was looking at me with hope.

It sounds like it lasted an eternity, but in reality, we must have only locked eyes silently for a few seconds.

Yukinoshita spoke, her grammar and enunciation still perfect, but her tone less rigid than before.

"Regarding earlier, thank you", she said.

"Don't mention it," I replied.

I wasn't going to press her for an explanation. Not unless she wanted to speak about it herself. After all, I know myself that having someone pry into one's life, even with the best of intentions, is an invasion of one's privacy.

To my surprise, she was the one who asked the next question.

"Why… did you help?"

Caught by surprise, the only answer I could give was the honest one.

"I wanted to."

Her eyes widened. The frozen spell that hung over them disappeared, like ice melted by the warm sun. And just for a moment, the guardedness was gone. The walls she constantly had around her were lifted.

It probably sounds like nothing.

And maybe it is.

In the long run, what must a single reaction be worth?

Yet, maybe that was why.

Maybe because it was a fleeting moment of honesty, in a world where I never saw it. A brief moment, one where I witnessed someone being _genuine._

It was beautiful.

She was beautiful.

And so, as naive as it was, I wanted it to stay.

That genuine part of her.

"I helped… because it didn't feel right that they treated you that way."

The words slipped out before I could stop myself, hanging loud in the air. They seemed to thrum and vibrate, and I couldn't take them back. I'd done what I never do, and revealed a bit of myself.

I haven't done that for many years. Because whenever I had, I'd lived to regret it.

And yet, at the moment, regret was the last thing on my mind.

Impossibly, Yukinoshita's eyes glowed even brighter, almost blinding me.

It was like a shooting star.

The moment was gone, and her walls were back up again. Her emotions hidden behind a perfectly unreadable face, arranged to conceal her true self. Her eyes once more blank, though I knew now, that they held so much more than I had once thought.

Yet, something had changed between us.

I felt bold enough to say my next words.

"Those girls… why do they bother you?"

She simply shook her head. I took that to mean that it wasn't a question she wanted to answer.

I didn't push it.

"They'll do it again, won't they?"

"... They most likely will."

There were a thousand questions I wanted to ask.

Why didn't she fight back? Why didn't she do something about it? Tell someone? Campus authorities? Friends?

That last word answered the question it represented.

If she had had friends, she wouldn't be in that position in the first place.

No one starts out wanting to be a loner. Though I'd never admit that aloud. No one starts out wanting to be a loner, one just sort of ends up being one.

There were so many things I didn't know. And the more I learnt, the more I found I didn't know, or understand, about her.

This girl, alone, friendless. Afraid, or unable to fight back. And so, living with her walls up constantly. Probably looking to avoid interaction.

Reminded me of someone, to be honest.

And yet, yesterday, when we had been discussing that shitty light novel, she'd seemed alive, eager to talk.

The Literary Analysis class… it all came back to this place. This was where I had first met her. The place where she could speak her mind, no matter how cautiously. And… it was the place where I had seen a small glimpse of her true self.

I understood now.

Understood that I didn't know or understand Yukinoshita at all.

But for some reason, I wanted to.

I do not think Yukinoshita is unaware of her options. And she's probably been told to approach the authorities if she's being bullied. That sort of message is all over the media these days. I doubt telling her the same thing will help.

So maybe, if I were to reach out through the one thing we have in common…

_Stories._

This is the Literary Analysis Class, isn't it?

Filled with a new determination, I speak up.

"Have you heard the tale of the Mercenary?"

"You'll have to be more specific than that, Hikigaya kun."

Undaunted by her quick comeback, I continue.

"His life began harshly, from the hanged corpse of his mother. Found by a band of wandering mercenaries, he was adopted by a prostitute who was part of the group. Shortly afterwards, the woman died, and he was raised by the leader of that band. It was a harsh life, and there were no handouts. From the moment he was able to walk, he was expected to be of use on the battlefield, carrying weapons for the adults. When he was old enough, he was given one himself. Soon, this young boy was fighting on the battlefield, killing grown men. This brutal life continued, a life where he was forced to kill to survive. It was not a good life, a life anyone should have. But a life it was. Everything changed when the man who was the closest thing to a father he had, tried to kill him. The boy managed to survive, but to do so, he had to take the life of the one he had looked up to. His entire world was shattered. Further, he became a pariah, since the rest of the band now wanted him dead."

Yukinoshita clapped her hands to her mouth, shocked.

"What… what happened to him after that?"

I looked her in the eye and answered.

"He lived. He had to fight tooth and nail to do it. It was hard, and it was lonely. After all, he had no comforting voice tell him at night that he was okay. But he fought anyway, and he survived."

"Why?" Yukinoshita asked softly. "Why did he continue to fight? Did he not see that the world wanted him dead? What gave him the strength to continue? What was his reason?"

"_Because he existed, and his life meant something._ This is _always_ true, Yukinoshita. There are so many perspectives in the world. So many opinions. Yet, it is not all those opinions and perspectives that decide that worth of a life. The only one who can do that, is the one living it. Thus, it is worth fighting, even if the whole world seems against you. Worth fighting for oneself. Worth fighting, so that one may _live._"

I paused slightly, and rubbed the back of my head.

"At least, that's what I took away from the story."

Yukinoshita stared at me intensely, never looking away.

Her gaze was powerful, unwavering. Nothing like the timid girl from the cafeteria.

"Is that really what you believe? Do you think it applies… even to someone like me?"

Her gaze was powerful, but it did nothing to hide her vulnerability.

That single question laid herself bare in front of me.

This girl was asking me if her life was worth anything.

I didn't hesitate for a second before answering. It was a frightening responsibility to have someone ask me of all people to affirm their existence. Yet, now that she had, fucking up that responsibility was out of the question.

I needed to answer.

Needed to tell her.

So I did.

"You matter. Your life matters. You exist, and should strive to make yourself happy, Yukinoshita."

The words came out stronger than I had expected. Perhaps because I was ultimately proclaiming my own beliefs. For a long time, I had fought the battles of life alone. If I had been the type to derive my self worth from what others thought of me, if I had been the type to believe that the thoughts of others determined my existence… then I would have been finished a long time ago.

One matters. As an individual, one matters, and has the right to be happy.

This was my firm belief.

And to this poor girl, who had been pushed around, I needed to convey that, so I did.

Yukinoshita's eyes glowed the brightest they had so far. For a moment, I was afraid she might burst into tears. But she didn't.

The bell rang, at that very moment, signalling the end of classes for the day.

Yukinoshita looked calm now. All traces of indecision and doubt gone, as was the timidity. Even the guardedness had disappeared.

It was a sudden change, made alarming by the fact that the face she had on right now was _not_ a mask.

I felt my blood run cold.

Partly because I was not sure what sort of monster I had just awoken.

And partly because I did not feel bad about helping her.

That last part was what scared me the most.

**Prologue End.**

_Author's note: Boy, oh boy. Setting up a yandere story actually takes some work. Sorry if the pacing has been a little slow so far. I wanted there to be some logical character progression. And that meant doing something I haven't properly seen done much, exploring the origins of a yandere's feelings. Anyway, I now feel like we have something of a base to work from, so next chapter should feature more forward movement of plot and hopefully some exciting stuff. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Light in the Dark**

"Literary Analysis?"

"That's right. Subject code is 444. It has to be on the list. Look, I've even got the receipt proving I paid the fees for it."

The clerk took the sheet of paper I was holding out, and examined it, at first reluctantly, then with growing interest.

"You weren't lying…"

"Hey."

"Sorry," he said, not sounding remotely handed the receipt back to me."We get at least a few students every term who think they can cheat the system and get an extra credit. You'll have to forgive me for not believing you at first."

"Yes, that's all great, but you believe me now, right? You've seen the receipt."

With great reluctance, the man grunted in the affirmative.

"Well, then, some answers would be nice, you know? We've had two classes already, but no teacher's showed up, there's no attendance, no coursework or assigned reading, and there's only two students. Am I the only one who thinks something's weird here?"

"Look, I don't know, all right? I'm just a guy who hits the enter key and stamps papers!"

I glared at him. This was, expectedly, turning out to be inconvenient.

I was currently in the campus office, face to face with a clerk. As you can tell, my current objective was to unearth some of the mysteries behind the enigmatic Literary Analysis class. And, as you can also tell, I wasn't making much headway in that direction.

"Look, there's a terminal right in front of you. There's got to be something about the class in there."

Once more, the middle aged man shot me a look that clearly said he didn't want to work. I deepened my glare, and he sighed.

"All right, all right, I'll look it up. Gimme a minute."

He tapped away at his keyboard for a while, followed by some clicking of the mouse. By the looks of it, he had indeed managed to find something, as his eyes had widened.

"All right, here we are. Literary Analysis, subject code- 444. Says here this class was introduced… just this year. And damn… you're right. There are only two students registered for it. You… and some girl named Yukinoshita Yukino."

"What about teachers?"

"It says here that's classified. I'm guessing they'll only show themselves during exams or something."

I clicked my tongue annoyance.

"What about books, though? A syllabus? There's gotta be something?"

"It says here you're gonna be graded based on your results in class… and that there's gonna be an end-of-term exam. There aren't any books listed though."

"That doesn't tell me anything! None of this makes any sense! How can the official records be this vague? It's almost as if the University's _trying to hide_ something."

The atmosphere in the room shifted subtly as soon as I uttered those words.

Nothing even needed to be said. I could feel the change in the air as if the temperature had dropped.

"Some matters shouldn't be looked into. You should drop this investigation here, kid."

For some reason, I didn't argue back. My throat felt dry. Turning around, I walked out of the office as quickly as my legs could carry me.

_Of course. Why am I even surprised? This whole setup reeked from the start._

My body was shaking.

There was something so horribly wrong with all of this.

This situation was contrived.

A class with only two people, and a nonexistent teacher who never showed up.

I was clearly a nobody.

But the girl wasn't.

Yukinoshita Yukino… whoever she was, she was important. And this class had been set up _specifically_ so that someone could interact with her. And I had a feeling that my turning out to be that person was not random. Not when everything else in this situation had come to pass because of intelligent design.

No, someone had scouted me. And, for whatever reason, seen fit to choose me to be the one Yukinoshita would interact with.

But why? What was the reason behind it?

I didn't know.

But all of a sudden, the nature of Yukinoshita stuck out in my mind. She was _not_ normal. And honestly, I don't even give a shit about normalcy. But Yukinoshita… something about her was very, very off from most human beings, and not in a harmless way. Although she was a victim, something about her set off every warning bell inside me.

Was she aware of it?

Aware that this whole situation was according to someone's plan?

This was so wrong.

Time was passing faster than it should.

Already, the in-between days were gone, and it was time for the next Literary Analysis Class.

Curiously, I had not seen Yukinoshita a single time in any of the days when we didn't have class together.

All of a sudden, I was already standing in front of the Literary Analysis classroom. I gulped nervously. When last I had seen Yukinoshita, we had spoken about the bullying she was facing on campus. And… I had told her she should live, and strive to be happy. That was the last thing I had said to her… and those words had sparked a transformation in her.

When I opened the door in front of me, what version of Yukinoshita would I see?

I took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

Turning to the side, I saw her seated in her usual seat.

To my immense relief, she looked like her usual self. That is to say, graceful and poised, lacking the nervousness and timidity she showed in front of her bullies, or the unnerving confidence she showed after our last conversation.

"Good morning, Hikigaya kun," she said, choosing to initiate our interaction, to my surprise.

"Good morning," I called back. Seeing her demeanour the same as it was last time had allowed me to relax, and I was about to make my way over to my regular seat, when Yukinoshita spoke.

"That would not be optimal. Sit here instead."

She gestured to the seat next to her, which, I noticed belatedly, had been pulled up much closer to hers than it would normally be, to the point where it wasn't even in its row anymore.

I gulped slightly. If I were to refuse here, there was no telling what might happen. Well, at least with one exception. I was certain she'd feel slighted by the refusal. Yukinoshita had a hard enough life, and honestly, I would not mind sitting next to her at all, not after she had gone out of her way to offer.

So I made my way over, and took the seat. No sooner had I done so than I realized I was actually much, much closer to her than I had thought would be the case. Right now, we were close enough that I could smell her. The scent of something sweet, most likely either that of the soap or the shampoo she used. The thought of that caused my mind to immediately wander to certain images, certain dangerous images. Shaking my head, I forced myself to get my head out of the gutter (or the bathtub, in this case). But the reality was enough more powerful than my imagination.

For whatever reason, my leg happened to bump into Yukinoshita's. That had actually happened a few seconds ago, and those seconds had been spent visualizing her in a bathtub. Thus, by the time I realized our position, we had been like that for a while, and she didn't draw away.

I was wearing trousers, but on this occasion, Yukinoshita happened to be wearing a short skirt, while her legs were mostly covered by stockings. Which, of course, did nothing to hide how firm yet soft her thighs were, pressed against my own.

I had never truly appreciated before how incredibly arousing legs can be. The toned muscle of her thighs, thick yet shapely, was dragging my mind right towards exactly the things I was trying to avoid thinking of.

Far from shrinking from the contact, she actually drew closer. Bringing our desks together, she held out her phone in front so that we could both see the screen. In doing so, our shoulders were now touching, and her face was inches from my own.

From this close, I could actually feel the warmth her body was radiating, proving the title of "Ice Queen" to be entirely incorrect.

The powerful, intoxicating scent of her was even stronger now, and mixed with something organic that probably wasn't from any soap.

I gulped as I realized that was because it was the scent of Yukinoshita herself.

_Damn it! What's with this love comedy-like situation? Don't just come that close to me: you're giving me all sorts of wrong impressions!_

"Hikigaya kun, as I recall, you were the one to share something both of the previous times. I thought I should finally take my turn, and return the favour."

The image on her phone's browser showed a scene I was familiar with. It was, after all, from a manga I had read, and loved. What was surprising was having Yukinoshita show me this page from the very final chapter of this series.

"I didn't know you read manga," I said.

She shook her head.

"I didn't. Not until recently. After last time, I searched online for the story you'd told, and found out it was from a popular seinen manga. I managed to read through all of it, and discovered I liked the art and narrative form, so I looked for more. This is the series that caught my attention next."

"You finished a total of over 600 chapters in three days?"

Yukinoshita tilted her head to the side slightly, once again using that adorable gesture that made me want to pat her head.

"Is that unusual?" she asked.

I couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"Yes. But that's okay."

She nodded, and we both turned our attention back to the screen.

This particular manga was about a young boy you dies, but cannot move on to the afterlife because there simply enough space for him. Thus, he is given a second chance at life, along with the powers and responsibilities of a "Spirit Detective", his task being to deal with supernatural phenomena and entities that threaten the human world.

Well, that's how it begins, anyway. The series goes from strength to strength, and follows the Shounen convention of constantly stronger foes. To deal with them, of course, the main cast consistently keeps getting stronger too.

In a sense, this progression is very much in line with the typical conventions of the genre, and nothing new. The reason the series stands out is because of how well written each member of the main cast is. There are no cliched responses or dialogues, and each of them comes across as three dimensional and believable in their motivations, personality and actions, making them highly endearing.

What's also worth mentioning is that unlike most battle manga, the series does not end with the protagonist miraculously on top of the mountain. Instead, he _loses_ his final battle, like anyone else might, and learns to grow up and move on with life.

The last scene depicts him returning to the girlfriend he had kept waiting for years. She'd remained faithful in that time, believing he'd be back, as he'd promised. Of course, there are limits to human patience, and in time, being alone takes its toll. Just when she says she isn't willing to wait any longer, he turns up and says she won't have to.

It's wonderfully cliched and cheesy, unlike the rest of the story, but for all that, it's still an incredible ending. And somehow, it always manages to put a smile on my face.

I looked at Yukinoshita.

"You wanted to analyse this?"

She shook her head.

"Not at all. I wanted to show that not all things need to be analysed. That sometimes, it's enough for a work of literature or art to make a person feel better. Give them some hope. You have…"

She hesitated slightly.

"You looked preoccupied and rather sad, Hikigaya kun. I thought I might share something that would make you feel better."

I started slightly, staring at her.

It would have been easy to dismiss what she'd done as just another prank.

Back in middle school, plenty of people had pretended to be kind to me just to get me to do things for them.

But Yukinoshita Yukino was not fake. She just wasn't the kind to derive satisfaction from something like that.

Of course, I was familiar with the alternative too.

People who were being genuinely kind.

A kindness that had nothing to do with me at all. It could have been anyone else, and they would have been kind to them too.

But Yukinoshita was awkward and isolated. I had never once seen her with another person.

Come to think of it, this was one hell of an awkward attempt at making someone feel better.

What if I hadn't been into this particular manga at all? What if I simply wasn't the type who felt better when I saw a romance work out? What if the fact that this ending was so cheesy put me off?

This really had been a shot in the dark.

But maybe that's why, it managed to put a smile on my face.

Yeah, this situation was contrived. I had been forced into it, into this game, by someone who wanted the two of us to interact. But I think Yukinoshita didn't have anything to do with that. Even if she knew the person who had done this, she was probably just as much a pawn in their game as I was. Come to think of it, that was probably why she was so defensive the first time I met her. She probably knows something is wrong here, and suspected I might be in league with whoever's responsible.

But… she doesn't think that anymore.

Yeah, whoever did this, is a person I don't trust.

But as I looked at Yukinoshita, and the tiny smile on her face, I realized it didn't matter. She wasn't the manipulative kind at all. Even if I was put here for some reason, it didn't need to be the reason I stayed.

I realized I liked that smile, and wanted to see it again. Somehow, being able to bring even the smallest bit of happiness into the life of this lonely, isolated girl… made me happy.

It wasn't kindness on my part.

I might not have done the same for anyone else. But, perhaps because it was her, I was able to do this.

The rest of the class passed by with us making conversation or discussing other things from the two manga she'd read. When the bell rang, I got up to leave, feeling slightly guilty.

Somehow, it felt like we were closer now.

And… it felt wrong to leave someone like that in her predicament.

Those girls were still bullying her, and I didn't want to be the guy who left after offering a temporary solution.

"Yukinoshita san… I realize I might be saying too much, but… I want to help. If someone is hurting you, I can help. Those girls… they shouldn't be treating you like that. If it's difficult to approach campus security alone, I can come with you. Or, if you'd rather face them yourself, I can be there when you do it."

Around midway through, I'd started to talk fast, the words slipping out of me before I could stop myself. I realized I was being frantic.

For a horrible moment, I thought I'd made the same mistake I'd made in middle school. Trying to do too much. I wondered if I'd disgusted her. Whether my offer would scare her off.

Yukinoshita looked at me with slightly wide eyes for a moment, then smiled.

"Hikigaya kun is quite kind."

The way she said it, with the hint of a teasing glint in her eyes, made me squirm in embarrassment.

To my surprise, she laughed gently, a surprisingly musical sound that I wished to hear more of. Then, she spoke gently.

"Don't worry. You're already helping me much more than you think. In fact, I doubt those girls will be bothering me again."

I raised my eyebrows slightly.

"Really? So you took care of it?"

"_Something like that. Hikigaya kun. I look forward to seeing you again. Please take of yourself."_

This time her words made me blush. I stammered out some kind of goodbye, then rushed away before I made a fool of myself.

It was only much later that I realized, something was off about one of the things she'd said.

"_**Really? So you took care of it?"**_

"_**Something like that."**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Yukino's POV:**

The steady, regular pulse of the alarm's vibrations woke me. I sat up in bed. In my mind, I reached out to my visualization of a clock and hit the snooze button. I stretched slightly, extending my arms above my head and straightening them out, feeling the stiffness in my back lessen as I did so. Getting up, I decided to start my daily routine. I did this mechanically, every move drilled into me through endless repetition.

After consuming a fruit shake, I performed my morning training routine. With slight variations, this menu was to be followed six days a week. Today's version started with stretches for mobility and exercises for core strength. Hamstrings. Glutes. Lower back. Rectus Abdominis. External obliques. Also included are the stabilizing muscles connected to the spine. By removing undue tension from each of these parts, one improved posture and increased efficiency. By subjecting each of these parts to load, one increased strength. This was the very base of my routine, since everything uses the core. All of these exercises were performed with body weight.

Once this was done, I moved on to calisthenics and plyometrics. On the schedule today were pull ups, clap push ups, squats and box jumps. I restricted myself to three sets of twelve repetitions on each of these. This was to compensate for my limited stamina. Due to a physical condition, I was not capable of extended periods of muscular or cardiovascular exertion. To counter this, I stayed within a range that trained strength while retaining a modicum of endurance. Since increasing muscle mass was not my gain, I had no need to keep the reps too slow. It was enough that they were controlled. The focus was on the concentric part, on contracting quickly, which develops explosive power. I didn't need to be stronger than anyone.

_Just strong enough to do what I needed to._

With resistance training done, I moved on to technique drills.

Here, I had to be even more careful. Extended bagwork was out of the question with my condition. So I focused at first on slow, deliberate movements, ingraining the right form into my nervous system. After that, I practiced each of those moves at full speed and power, utilizing a dummy I had set up for that purpose. This was not the usual target used in gyms. Custom made, this model had anatomy that closely mimicked the real human body, and had parts representing all the spots that I needed to reach.

Throat. Eyes. Ears. Solar Plexus. Liver. Kidneys. Groin. Thighs. Knees. Elbow pits. Ankles. Wrists. Fingers.

Quickly, I flowed through the techniques that aimed to dismantle each of these, finishing in exactly one minute.

This was the ideal length of time. Within the limit of my endurance, but also enough to drill each move.

Thus, my morning training concluded for the day.

It was something I had continued to do, though it had been years since the ones who had drawn up these routines had trained me. At this point, like so many other things, it was mechanical, something that I did, the same as breathing, or sleeping.

I proceeded to the bath. If my estimate was correct, it should be an hour since I woke up, which would mean it was 7 AM at the moment. Within moments, I drew myself a warm bath, and proceeded to cleanse the sweat from my exertions. While the feeling of freshness and the scents of oils offered physical rejuvenation, they did little to change the state of my mind.

One day flowed into another. I would wake up feeling rested, but it was as if I was repeating the previous day. It was an endless cycle. Each day, I would pass twenty four hours. Then I'd do it all over again. Ad infinitum.

As I wiped myself dry, something entered my mind.

A wonderful light, in a seemingly endless darkness.

I remembered I had something to look forward to.

Tall. Lean. Hard features. Sharp nose. A hard line of a mouth. Slouching posture. Untidy hair. And a pair of eyes that were somehow more dead than most corpses… but also burned with light. With life.

When I first met him, my initial impression had been that he was no different from the countless other people I'd seen. After all, the idea of realizing someone is _special_ at first sight… is something that only happens in fiction.

He was nervous. And cautious. Oh, so cautious.

It made me wonder.

Caution meant secrets. What secrets was he hiding?

I had not gone so far as to assume he was a kindred spirit. But I was at least curious. I hadn't seen someone with real secrets in a long time.

And he was different in other ways too.

There are only two kinds of men I meet.

The one kind who stare at me like meat.

And the other who stare as if I were a wolf.

Hunger and fear. Hunger and fear.

He was… different.

While he was certainly afraid, it was a different kind of fear than I normally sensed. As if… rather than being afraid of what he could see, he was afraid of what he _couldn't._

But that was absurd. For that to be true, would mean he was looking past the surface… and perceiving me for what I truly am. It was ridiculous. A wild fantasy at best.

But then our eyes met, and I knew for certain, he was seeing _me._

And… incredibly, his reaction upon seeing _me_ wasn't disgust.

It was interest.

I could see it. Stronger than his fear.

That's why he was able to talk to me.

Neither the kind that was reduced to a blubbering mess by hunger, or the kind that was too afraid to approach.

That told me… that he wasn't like the others.

But it wasn't then that I truly saw what sort of man he is.

No, that took place later.

You see, something happened years ago.

But I can't talk about it.

I think _that _was the moment when I started to think it.

Started to think that I was worthless.

It's painful to think of, but I was discarded. By the two people I had trusted, above all others.  
And they had told me as much. That I was worthless. And so, I had never fought back. Not since then. Everything had become meaningless.

And like a shadow in my mind, I could see his face. The face that had haunted me since that day, long ago.

As long as that face existed in my mind, I was indeed worthless.

And in time, the world had come to realize that.

So many people around me, they saw it. And they took advantage of it.

And… I was scared.

If I fought back… I'd be going against what _they_ had said. They'd be ashamed.

No, it was better to endure, endure, endure. Until one day I wouldn't have to anymore. That was all my life was worth.

That is what I had believed. So firmly. For years.

Until _he _came.

I did not even think it was possible.

I sat in the cafeteria, enduring what the world saw fit to throw at me. A repeat of that day. Indeed, every time I was tortured, it was a repeat of that day. Because nobody ever came.

But this time, someone did.

And the shadow of that hated face in my mind was gone, for the first time.

Replaced by those beautiful eyes.

How effortlessly he stood up to the ones who mocked me, pained me. Made it look like an accident and still managed to get them to leave.

But I knew it was no accident.

He came over afterwards, to ask if I was all right.

Something no one asked anymore.

I was happy.

I was so happy.

A part of me was afraid. Thought that he was temporary, just like everyone else. That in the end, he would betray me too. Even if he didn't, life would go on, and he would leave.

But even so. If that one moment was all I had from him, I would still cherish him, because he had defeated the one who had abandoned me.

And so, later, I met him in class. Afraid that he was going to leave. But I didn't want to.

I wanted him to stay. But I didn't know how to say it. Didn't know how to show it. I was afraid. Afraid I'd scare him away.

But once more, he proved me wrong.

I can hear his words now, if I close my eyes.

From now till I die, I will always be able to hear them.

"_**You matter. Your life matters. You exist, and should strive to make yourself happy, Yukinoshita."**_

Somehow, without my having told him anything, he knew exactly what my fears were. As if he knew everything.

I had always wanted to hear those words.

And now, I finally had.

As I clothed myself, the thought of that man brought a smile to my face. And suddenly, my movements weren't mechanical anymore.

_Incredible. The thought of you makes my life better._

_**Hikigaya Hachiman.**_****

That was his name.

I looked at myself in the mirror, and I noticed, I wasn't just checking to see if I looked the way the ones who had raised me expected me to. I wanted to know what he thought of me.

Was I in his thoughts too? Even a little bit?

I made myself breakfast, but there was still quite a bit of time before I needed to leave for classes. I decided to go online, and look for the story which he had told me a part of.

To my surprise, it was easy to find from searching for the synopsis. It was a popular manga in Japan and other parts of the world, and to my surprise, the art had considerably more realism and detail than most works in that particular form of media.

Time passed by, and I realised I had lost track of it.

An entire day had gone by, and I had missed classes.

Stayed at home, and was more than halfway through the series.

And remarkably, I did not regret it.

I could picture the disappointed faces of _those_ people. The ones who had given birth to me. And my so-called sister. But I didn't care.

Somehow, they had stopped mattering to me.

I decided to finish the series.

Somehow, I got the feeling that the protagonist of that tale was someone _he_ looked up to.

Now that I looked back to the way he had spoken of him, admiration was evident.

The Mercenary… or well, as he is properly called, _The Black Swordsman_… was certainly not a perfect being. He had his flaws. And plenty of them. But perhaps that was why, his virtues were worth something too. He felt human. He made mistakes. But he continued on, despite the tragedies he faced.

Had Hikigaya kun known that I needed to experience a story like this? That I needed to see… that it was possible. Always possible. To fight. And to live.

The day passed into night, and I read through more manga, realizing that Hikigaya kun might have a fondness for the medium.

I realized I had developed one too.

It was late by the time I fixed myself dinner, and when I was done eating, I decided to go and sleep, feeling, for the first time in years, truly restful.

What was Hikigaya kun to me?

Right now?

My saviour.

But… I didn't want that to be all there was between us.

I wanted to know.

Wanted to know more about him. Understand him.

Then maybe I could start to understand my own feelings.

I had found a goal.

When I woke up the next day, I had already decided I would skip classes. I was more than familiar with the coursework, so it hardly mattered.

Instead, my task for the day was to study Hikigaya kun.

After finishing my morning workout, I quickly bathed and took my breakfast, before changing into my regular clothes and heading out to college.

Shortly after getting admitted to Tokyo University, I had, like all students, received an orientation package that included a map of the campus. Of course, out of habit, I had familiarized myself with all of it. This was a legacy of my middle school days… when I had actually cared about school.

Of course, now I had a reason to care again, so the habits I had cultivated were going to pay off.

It didn't take me long to find the office in charge of student affairs. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't yet open, which was perfect for me.

One of the advantages of being an avid reader is that one builds up a vast store of knowledge, waiting to be used when the need arises. One of the advantages of not having anything to do with one's life is that one has plenty of time to read.

For instance, I happened to know that this kind of lock could be picked quite easily.

Simply observation revealed that there was no close circuit television camera in the area, which is a remarkable oversight from a security point of view. But, again, I wasn't complaining. It made my job easier.

An ordinary torch was the only tool I needed inside. College offices opened at 10 AM, which meant I had a solid two hours before I needed to worry about anyone coming in here, and I'd have left the place by then.

The student affairs office stored documents pertaining to the personal details of those enrolled in various courses.

The first thing to do was to slip out an extra hoodie I was carrying with me in my bag, and put it on, along with a cap I also had. The former I used to hide my hair, the latter to conceal my face. Given the position of CCTV cameras near the ceilings, If I angled the cap right and kept my head down low, my features would not be seen.

I started off by turning on one of the computer terminals. Here, I searched for Hikigaya Hachiman, and was able to find only one matching result. I suppose that made sense, since his name was rather unusual.

Opening his files, I discovered he was a First Year Literature student with generally good results. I managed to find out his place of residence and phone number too, and also learned a little about his family. He had parents and a sister who all lived in Chiba… meaning he was likely here alone.

_Interesting._

According to the information here, he lived close by. I was familiar with the apartment complex listed as his residence, as it was a popular place for students here, and rented flats there were highly sought after. It wasn't far from my own place, which was yet another advantage.

I went through the rest of his file, which included his final grades and report from high school. Top five academically? Not bad. It also mentioned that he had occasionally taken part in sports, and achieved fairly good results. However, not a part of any clubs or societies, either here or in school.

From that, and what I knew of him, I was able to put together an image of him, a composite sketch of sorts.

He seemed like the type to analyse and overanalyse everything. I doubt the caution he had shown the first time we had met was limited to me. More likely, he was a careful person in general. That, in conjunction with his looks, interests and manner of conversation indicated he stood apart in a crowd, and had likely been a loner in school.

This was backed up by the evidence from his file, which stated he had not been in any clubs or societies. The only time he had taken part in sports events was when he was subbing in for another member.

Well, this is what I knew about him so far. But there is only so much one can learn from reading things. I needed to observe him personally. To that end, I managed to find out his schedule for the day by going through his list of classes, and checking the schedules of those.

Memorizing the list, I shut down the computer. Since the database software used to keep these records would always start up from a default state and had no option to record user history, my activities had left no trace.

Thus, even from the CCTV footage, all they'd see would be an unknown girl entering, and using one of the terminals, but have no idea who she was or what she was doing.

Since my appearance would be drastically different due to the change in clothing, I wouldn't be pegged down as a suspect.

And in any case, for once my reputation would help.

No one would assume the daughter of the Yukinoshita's would engage in such conduct.

Of course, there had still been risks. For example, there might be someone in the head security office who was actually doing his job and keeping his eye on all the monitors. He'd see the live feed from the cameras here and rush here with backup to capture me.

But that would imply someone was actually doing his job, and I knew for a fact that campus security was nowhere near that vigilant. Sure, they might help out if a student specifically went to them and asked, but beyond that, they did little.

Picking up my bag, I left the building. Outside, I found the blind spot where I had changed the first time, and took off the hoodie and cap, stuffing both inside my bag, along with the gloves I had put on.

To be honest, those might have been a touch too far. I highly doubted they would resort to picking up finger prints.

But then again, if one must do a job, do it right. It was far better to be cautious and safe.

The next part of my job was much easier, and more pleasant as well. Nothing about it was strictly illegal (or easy to catch, at any rate).

All I had to do was tail Hikigaya kun, and observe him.

To my surprise, it ended up being more challenging than I had assumed.

While he was kind, he was far from naive or airheaded. By keeping his head low and posture slouched, he eliminated presence and made himself forgettable, part of a crowd. This meant he was now free to look everywhere, and observe people. This he constantly did. Indeed, for a moment, I wondered who exactly out of the two of us was out on a reconnaissance mission at the time.

His movements were quick, and he rotated his head, making sure that his field of vision covered most everything around him at some point or the other.

Yet, he didn't seem particularly nervous at the time.

That meant that this must be his normal mode of behaviour.

He was simply an observant person by nature, and this observation was active. He specifically looked at people around him, studying them.

I wondered why that was.

In general, humans are pathetically boring and predictable, not to mention disgusting.

_Someone like him needed someone better to observe._

In any case, consistently changing my position so I wouldn't be spotted was difficult. Short of hopping from place to place and looking a fool, there was only one option I had, and that was to blend in with the crowd. Fortunately, I was carrying equipment for this too, in the form of a surgical mask. Since these were so common in Japan, I wouldn't look out of place wearing one. The other step was to tie my hair back, and slightly alter my gait and mannerisms. For this, my own observation of people helped, and I imitated the posture and behavioural tics I had seen most women of my age possess.

I was still nervous that he would be able to spot me, but fortunately, my efforts paid off, and I remained unnoticed. Thus, I was able to take my time and watch him.

My hypothesis about him being a loner also proved to be correct. Neither in nor outside of classes did he have much interaction with anyone, and the little he did have was limited to single line exchanges.

For a moment, an ugly possibility reared its head in me.

That he was simply lonely, and would take anyone he could to alleviate that loneliness. I had just simply happened to be there to meet that need.

But I immediately discounted this thought. Hikigaya kun would never be so pathetic. He was not the only loner in college, and in fact, there were others like him in some of his classes too. Yet, I didn't see him going out of his way or interacting with them.

That made me feel warm.

What we had was different. He didn't have this with anyone else, and neither did I.

With that, I felt confident. I would get to know him better. And thanks to the classes we had together, there would be plenty of time to do so.

Around 2 PM, Hikigaya exited the campus, presumably to go home. For a while, I wondered if I should continue to tail him, but quickly realized this was a bad idea. Outside, there was no crowd, and he would definitely notice me following him. It wouldn't do to scare him away. I would still be investigating his apartment. Just not right now.

Satisfied for the moment, I decided to go home too.

As I was making my way down the campus' walkway, I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Porcelain. Where you headed?"

Already knowing who it was, I turned around to face them.

These are the girls who have been making life difficult for me since I joined this university.

They are all Economics students, in the same year as me, and as you might have realized, we have most of our classes together.

All three of them were here. Smiling, advancing towards me.

Ah, I see. It seems they were unhappy about Hikigaya kun's intervention the previous time, and wished to finish what they had started.

I will be entirely honest.

Had Hikigaya kun never entered my life, it is likely they would have been able to continue doing whatever they wanted to me. I had had nothing to live for, and no reason to fight back.  
And that meant I was scared.

I was always scared because my own life had been meaningless, and I had been confronted by others whose lives did have meaning.

But I knew better now.

"_**You matter. Your life matters. You exist, and should strive to make yourself happy, Yukinoshita."**_

I now had a reason to fight back.

As they continued to advance, I backed away, consciously keeping on my face the same expression they're used to seeing.

I almost laughed inside. I've been letting people this stupid push me around?

They never even noticed.

I knew the campus' walkways by heart.

As I continued to back away, they followed me, thinking I was running.

And I led them to a certain space behind the Visual Arts building. There are no cameras here, and the area is sealed off on three sides by walls. It's also quite isolated, and can only be reached by a rather narrow walkway.

When we were properly out of view of the rest of the campus, effectively in a private space, their smiles grew.

"Well, well, Porcelain. You kind of cornered yourself here, didn't you?"

There was no longer any need to keep up a pretense, so I dropped mine.

"_**Nakamura san… do you not have a brain?"**_

The girl I had addressed took a moment to comprehend what I had said. This was all right, as she had limited processing power to work with. Upon realizing what she had just heard, her expression turned into one of outrage.

"You… you bitch…"

I dropped my bag. Needed freedom of motion.

"_**You don't realize yet, do you? You've already been hunted. Everything that happens from here, is simply playing with my game."**_

Constriction of pupils. Downward slant of eyebrows. Open mouth. Reaction: anger, out of control.

Predictable.

She charged right at me, swinging wildly.

Ducking the blow, I slammed my fist into her throat.

Instantly, her body goes rigid. She grasps at herself, struggling to breathe, and collapses onto her knees.

It's been a while since I used these martial arts skills. All this while, I've only been keeping them sharp out of habit. But now I'm thankful.

Now that I have a reason to live, they'll be extremely useful.

The other two, seeing what had happened, but not quite understanding, came at me together now.

Analysis: the one closer to me is rather underweight. Low muscle mass. Posture weak too. Likely can't take a hit. But if I strike her, the other one will be upon me before I can regain a stance.

I smiled.

Stepping forward, I struck out with a teep, a forward kick.

But this wasn't the version meant to push.

It was the strike, delivered with a leather shoe on, right to the solar plexus.

Unsurprisingly, the girl was sent flying back, knocked off balance and out of breath.

The last one, screaming, was now upon me.

She'd probably seen this as her chance to get me.

But I'd already read her.

Big girl. Outweighed me by ten kilos, maybe. She'd try to use her power and weight to bring me down.

All part of my design.

As expected, she tackled me before I could have gotten into a stand-up stance.

This was good, since I wanted to take it to the ground in the first place.

As her shoulder ran into my core, I braced myself, and wrapped my arm around her lowered neck.

Using my other hand, I reinforced the grip, while wrapping my legs around her lower back.

We fell to the ground, but not hard enough to hurt me. Most of the power was gone from her tackle because of the way I had grabbed her.

With her neck in my control, and my legs around her, she had no way to break free.

Predictably, she tried punching my ribs with her free hands.

Poor, naive, girl. You can't generate enough power from that position.

I allowed myself to laugh now.

"_**HaHAhahAHa… like a pig to the slaughterhouse."**_

Taking a breath, I pulled backwards with my torso, tightening the guillotine choke to the maximum.

A strong fighter can resist for maybe five seconds.

An out-of-shape bitch like this managed two.

She passed out and went limp, and I pushed her body off me before getting to my feet.

Of course, a hit to the solar plexus tends to demolish one's will to fight, and doubly so for a coward.

The girl I'd kicked had only barely managed to sit up, and the one I'd punched in the throat wouldn't be fighting again anytime soon.

Had I crushed her trachea? No, no.

My stamina was limited, of course. But my control?

I'll be honest, reader.

_**It's damn near perfect.**_

I walked over to her.

Nakamura was the head of the trio.

A slight distance away, I saw a lead pipe on the ground.

I shook my head.

What is it with the pathetic state of security on this campus? You can't leave things like that lying around.

For example, what if a person were to be seized with the sudden urge to end someone's life?

What if that person was capable of doing such a thing?

I walked over to it and picked it up.

Hmm…. Not the same as a shinai, but it'll do. Besides, this doesn't break easily.

Nakamura had managed to regain some breath now, and was watching in horror as I approached.

Ah, yes. I could get used to this.

I read somewhere that many hunters enjoy seeing the fear in their prey's eyes before putting them out of their misery.

I'm not sorry.

It's just that my life has gained meaning, Nakamura, and yours has lost it.

"Please… stop… that's enough…"

"_**I can't recall you stopping, any of those times in the bathrooms or the cafeteria."**_

Dilation of pupils.

Fear.

She's also getting an adrenaline rush, but it won't matter. I have that too, and unlike her, I know how to use it.

If this had been an extended fight, maybe she could have gotten me after my stamina was depleted.

But forget four minutes.

_This swine couldn't even last thirty seconds._****

Hmm, but as a matter of fact, it might not be a good idea to kill them.

Corpses are difficult to dispose of.

I could, of course, make it look like they had tried to kill me, which would make this an incident of self defence.

But it was a hassle.

More time in court meant less time with Hikigaya kun.

No, that was unacceptable.

Dead corpses are difficult to dispose of.

Living corpses, on the other hand, are far more convenient.

Yes, for now, I'll settle for killing their spirit.

Crouching down so that our faces were level, I slapped her across the cheek.

"_**How are you so stupid? Did your parents not have brains? Or did they repeatedly drop you on your head to see how stupid they could make you without ending your life? Or, hold on… this seems much more likely… you're just a pig, aren't you?"**_

"Yukinoshita, I'm…"

I slapped her again.

"_**You don't call your master by her name, you worthless bitch. Don't you have any manners? Now try again."**_

She looked at me, eyes wide. I could see anger in humiliation in them, but the fear far outweighed them. Swallowing her pride, she lowered her head.

"Sorry, master."

"_**There we go. It's a start. Now, I'm a rather kind master. Just this once, I'll let all three of you live! Isn't that wonderful? Of course, if you ever get within three feet of me again, it's going to be a different story."**_

I paused slightly.

"_**I mean, so many people saw the three of you 'bully' me. Time and time again. If something unfortunate were to happen to you, don't you think it'd be called self defence?"**_

Nakamura was sweating wildly now.

"_**In fact, I don't think you'd find any sympathy from anyone. Oh yes, there's also the fact that the Yukinoshita name carries some weight. You might find it hard to get a lawyer."**_

The girl managed to summon up the last remnants of her defiance for one last attempt to strike me verbally.

"You're… the loser daughter… your family doesn't care about you."

Hmm. Half correct, half incorrect.

"_**Don't you understand? Let me put it to you this way. Were I the lowest of the Yukinoshita's, even then, a single hair on my head would be worth three times your pathetic life. If you don't believe me, try it."**_

I smiled.

"_**Just. Try it."**_

And, at that moment, facing the challenge I had given her, she backed away.

There are some who are able to fight back even after a moment of cowardice, and one day redeem themselves.

I doubt Nakamura san is one of them.

In any case, I'd crushed her spirit. If she came after me again, I'd do it once more.

And of course, seeing the leader they'd look up to humiliated, her two friends would lose faith as well.

None of these three would be bothering me again. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Closer**

**Hachiman's POV:**

I closed my notebook, as the people around me got up. The bell had just rung, signalling the end of the class. It was 2 PM, which meant I was done for the day, although others might have classes upto 5 in the evening, depending on their timetables. In any case, I was done. Putting my things away in my backpack, I got up and made my way outside. My shift at the grocery store wasn't until three hours later, so I had plenty of time. Lunch sounded like a good idea.

I did have several cups of instant ramen at my rented apartment, and they were certainly convenient, but I felt like having something at least marginally more substantial today, so I decided to head to the cafeteria. Of course, given this was Tokyo U, there was nothing to complain about the quality of the food. As I walked, I observed the people around me. It was a habit I'd picked up in middle school, and it has stood me in good stead. Since most people were done for the day, the campus grounds were quite crowded, full of folks either heading home, or to their various societies and clubs, or, like me, looking to get a bite to eat. Groups discussed plans and places to visit.

Ah yes. Society as usual.

It was all a gigantic pain in the ass. As for me, being the enlightened being that I am, I always prefer solitude and- wait, is that Yukinoshita?

A little way down the path, I noticed my classmate from Literary Analysis. She was standing to one side, checking something on her phone.

Huh. I had not taken her to be the type to spend a lot of time with gadgets. Maybe I was mistaken. Or maybe she was actually checking something important?

I could have considered these questions further, but at the moment, my mind was far more occupied with whether I should greet her or not. Company can be bothersome, and my primary state of being is solitude… but Yukinoshita was an exception to both those "rules". It actually disturbed me slightly to think that I enjoyed being around her to the point where I was seriously considering it was an improvement over being alone.

Before I could reconsider my decision, she happened to look up and locked eyes with me, and I raised a hand in greeting.

"Yo."

Her eyes did not widen. Not surprised? Well, I suppose it makes sense that sooner or later we'd run into each other outside class. Still, she didn't look _at all_ surprised to see me. Almost as if she was expecting it.

Yeah, right.

No, instead of surprise, she raised her own hand, mirroring my gesture, albeit so awkwardly that it ended up being incredibly cute.

"Hikigaya kun. Nice meeting you out here."

"Likewise," I said, coming to a stop a few feet away from her. "It's not everyday we meet outside Lit Analysis."

She smiled slightly at that, as though at a joke only she knew.

"This is only the second time we've spoken outside class," she said.

I remembered the first time. But it was best not to bring that up. Normally, this was the point where I'd utter some kind of hasty goodbye and make an exit, but to my surprise, I was actually looking for ways to keep the conversation going.

A part of me (most likely the eternal chuuni) was screaming inside about how I had fallen to the point of being a normal, well-adjusted person who cared about interacting with others.

The much larger part of me was more concerned with prolonging this encounter with Yukinoshita.

"That is true," I said. "Are you done with classes for the day?"

She nodded.

"And you?"

"Just got out. Was actually on my way to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat."

I hesitated slightly. Somehow, miraculously, I'd been able to set up the invitation line. This was the part where I asked her if she would be interested in joining me.

Of course, being the awkward mess I am, I wasn't able to spit it out. This was bad: there would either be an uncomfortable pause if I said nothing, or she would say I should go on ahead and have my lunch, which would be her way of saying goodbye.

Before I could psych myself up and invite her, however, she spoke.

"That sounds like a good idea. I think I'll join you."

I wondered if I had heard her right. Well, actually, I knew I had. It's just that I was having a hard time believing it.

In the meantime, Yukinoshita was looking at me with a slight smile on her face. I could feel my cheeks grow warm, and looked away.

"Ah, sure. Let's go then."

By now, of course, I had already betrayed the loner's code. I wasn't too guilty about it. We reached the cafeteria and went up to the counter, where we both ordered our meals. As we carried the trays to one of the empty tables, I noticed three familiar faces.

They were the girls who had been picking on Yukinoshita that day.

I still wanted to stop them. Not just temporarily, like the last time, but keep them from messing with her ever again. I wondered if I could achieve such a result by conversing with them, but immediately discounted the thought. There wasn't really anything I could say to them that would make a difference.

It burned me up, thinking that I had no choice but to stand and do nothing as they bullied her.

As we neared them on the way to our own table, they looked up, noticing us.

Almost immediately, the colour drained from their faces.

_What the-? What's with that reaction?_

It took me only a moment to realize they weren't looking at me. They were looking at Yukinoshita.

One of them twitched, as if to get up, but stopped instantly, seemingly thinking better of it.

_What the hell is up with these three?_

At that moment, I remembered something Yukinoshita had said earlier.

"_I doubt those girls will be bothering me again."_****

That, and with what I was seeing in front of me now, my mind started to race.

Just what exactly had Yukinoshita done to make them change their demeanour towards her this much?

I turned to look at her, but she didn't even seem to have noticed that her classmates were quivering in fear.

"Is something the matter, Hikigaya kun?"

I shook my head.

_I'm just drawing conclusions in my mind. I don't know what happened between them. Can't just imagine whatever I want about what went down._

We reached an empty table and set down our trays and bags, before taking seats right opposite each other.

"Itadakimasu."

We both began to eat. I continued to wrestle with the question of whether I should ask her directly or not.

"You look like you have something on your mind, Hikigaya kun."

I took a deep breath and exhaled.

This was pointless. I always preferred being able to be honest and not have to hide anything. In any case, Yukinoshita was not an average person.

"Yukinoshita… did something happen between you and these girls?"

She looked at me, and I brought every bit of skill I've learned and cultivated over the years, skill in reading body language and expressions, into play.

Yukinoshita smiled brightly.

"Well, I took your advice. I decided to stand up to them, and speak to them. It turns out, once I told them the possible legal consequences of continuing what they are doing, they got cold feet. It's amazing how much difference being assertive makes."

In all of that, I couldn't catch any hints that she was lying. Nor did I see any guilt or uneasiness.

Suddenly, I felt bad for having doubted her.

I knew quite well that Yukinoshita wasn't like most people. But… she was undoubtedly genuine… and was not the type to inflict unnecessary cruelty on people.

She was still the innocent, intelligent girl I was curious about. Just a little bit stronger now than when I had first met her.

And that was a good thing.

I bowed my head.

"Sorry. I guess I was caught off guard a little. I'm glad to know you won't have to deal with them anymore."

"It's all right, Hikigaya kun. And thank you."

-

**Yukino's POV:**

Those thrice damned bitches nearly ruined everything. Didn't I tell them to stay far and away from me? No, I didn't think they might be in the cafeteria. I'll have to do something to avoid situations like this in the future.

Hikigaya kun was paying attention to his food as he ate, so I took the chance to look at the three of them.

Unsurprisingly, they noticed my glance.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, and mouthed out the words silently, hoping their subpar intelligence would allow them to comprehend what I was saying.

"_**An inch away from death."**_

Right away, they quietly lowered their cutlery and got up, walking away quickly.

I smiled slightly. Pest control taken care of.

I returned to my meal, occasionally glancing at Hikigaya kun as we both ate.

This was nice. Getting to spend time with him outside class.

Learning his timetable had paid off, as had observing him. He always took the same route after his Modern Japanese Literature class, meaning it wasn't hard to wait in a spot where I knew he'd run into me.

From there, I would have had to rely on my admittedly weak conversational skills to invite him somewhere.

To my surprise (and happiness), I didn't have to work very hard, because it seemed he was interested in spending time with me as well. I might not know very much about "hitting on" the opposite sex, but I am fairly good at reading body language and hidden verbal cues.

It was clear he was trying to find a way to talk to me, and honestly, it was funny to see how awkward and nervous he was. Funny, and endearing. I realized then just how much I simply enjoy watching him be himself. His wonderful, kind self.

However, I couldn't find it in me to keep him in unnecessary suspense. I was extremely happy to know he wanted to have lunch with me, and also that he cared enough about my answer that he was afraid to ask.

So I came out and said it first, and now here we are.

Mission successful: start spending time together outside class. Today, lunch. Then maybe again tomorrow. The day after, something else. We'll be together more and more often. And all it took to start that progression, was this one simple step.

We finished our meals, making pleasant conversation as we did so.

We decided to walk to the campus gate together. Of course, I knew where he lived, but letting him know that fact now would do more harm than good. My own apartment was close by as well, and not very far from his. We would be going at least a part of the way back together, which I was happy for.

We were making our way down the street, when all of a sudden, I heard a horn blare loudly, right behind us. I had been so preoccupied in enjoying his presence that I had neglected to be aware of my surroundings. I could still get out of the way easily enough, but before I could do so, Hikigaya kun grabbed me and moved forward, pushing us both out of the path of the speeding car.

Of course, the suddenness of his movement meant that he was off balance, and since he was heavier than me, and holding on to me, we were both off balance.

Before we hit the ground, he changed our positions so that he had gotten one shoulder and arm under me, shielding me from the impact.

We landed, and I heard a nasty crunching sound, along with a sharp intake of breath from Hikigaya kun, indicating pain.

He's hurt himself.

Ignoring the injury, he looked at me.

"You okay?" he manages to grunt out.

"Hikigaya kun…" I say, feeling tears start to gather in my eyes. "Your shoulder…"

"Yeah… it doesn't feel so good," he said, trying to force a smile, and failing.

I shook my head.

He… what was he thinking? He could easily have gotten out of the way of the car too, without risking any injury. But he didn't. He didn't get out of the way. Not by himself. He thought of me.

Even though I would have been fine, he thought of me.

That knowledge… sent a powerful feeling coursing through me. A burning heat. Suddenly, I felt so close to Hikigaya kun. Closer than we were before.

"Can you stand?"

I slung his healthy arm over my shoulders and helped him to his feet. He rose gingerly, avoiding any sudden jerks to his injured shoulder.

"We need to get you to a hospital," I said.

Hikigaya kun opened his mouth to argue, and I immediately stopped him.

"No discussion. I'm taking you to one, right now."

Sensing he wouldn't be able to change my mind on this, he nodded.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

I shook my head.

He didn't need to thank me. I would be here to help him. By his side. Always.

I called an ambulance, not willing to take any risks, and we got to a hospital within the next ten minutes. Hikigaya kun was examined, and found to have a dislocated shoulder. After the doctor performed the procedure to put the humerus back into the clavicle's socket, his arm was put in a sling, and he was given anti inflammatory painkillers and told to ice his shoulder and keep it safe until full recovery.

He took a dose of the painkiller on his way out of the hospital, and I decided to take him back to his apartment.

Of course, I made sure to ask him the address, just to make sure he wouldn't be suspicious.

Within minutes we were back at his place. I paid off the cab, and helped him up the stairs to his flat. The painkiller was definitely having an effect on him. His movements were unsteady. It was clear he wasn't completely in his senses. He managed to fumble in his pockets and fish out his front door key.

After a few attempts, he slipped it into the keyhole properly and opened the door.

Shakily he entered, almost stumbling in. Behind him, I paused.

Normally, I wouldn't think twice about entering.

After all, I had knowingly, willingly tracked him. Gone through his files at college. Watched him from afar.

I had even been planning to break into his home earlier.

But something had changed since the incident just over an hour ago.

Something had changed when Hikigaya kun took the fall for me and busted his shoulder, without a second thought.

Before, I was curious.

Now, I couldn't bring myself to tarnish someone like that by taking advantage of the fact that he wasn't in his senses.

"Hikigaya kun…" I said. "May I come in?"

"Yeah sure… what're ya doin' out there 'nyways? Jus' close the door behind ya when ya get in…"

His speech was slurred, and he was stumbling forward, most likely heading for the bedroom.

I quickly entered and shut the door behind me, before shooting every bolt. I would _not_ have anyone intruding on us.

Taking off my shoes, I put down both our bags on the sofa, then moved forward to support him.

"Thanks," he said. "Shit, fuck. I'm kinda out of it right now, hahaha!"

Was the painkiller that strong? He had taken two afterall. Maybe the pain was bad enough that the relief would leave him this lightheaded. Or perhaps he had a uniquely low tolerance to certain drugs. Hmmm… it would be best to monitor his intake, then. Make sure he doesn't inadvertently hurt himself.

Guided by him, I led him to his bedroom.

His arm was in a sling, and his dirtied and torn shirt had been taken off at the hospital, leaving him in an undervest and his trousers.

"Hikigaya kun, you need to take off your clothes."

He laughed slightly.

"Hahaha, I never thought I'd see a girl so brazenly try to perv on me."

My cheeks grew red and my face felt hot.

"H-Hikigaya kun!" I managed to stammer out.

He laughed, taking a drunken half step and barely managing to keep his balance.

"Wooah there. Nearly had a second accident. Once is enough for a day, don't you think?"

He was talking much more than he normally did. It was clear that the drug had indeed had an effect on him. His inhibitions were lowered, and he was joking around, laughing.

Smiling.

It hurt for a moment when I realized I had very rarely see him smile at any other time.

I had spent an entire day observing him, and in that time, I hadn't seen any happiness on his face. Any joy.

He had probably noticed that I had grown silent, because he chose that moment to speak.

"Hey, you mad at me? Sorry, I was just kidding. Give me a second. I'll get changed."

"Hikigaya kun, are you sure-"

"I'm all right," he said, turning and facing me, with a reassuring smile on his face. "A little high, but not entirely out of my senses."

His words and smile put me at ease, and I moved out of the room, giving him some privacy to change.

A few minutes later, he opened the door.

"Done," he said.

He was now dressed in shorts and a simple t shirt. I noticed that these clothes revealed much more of him than his regular college wear did.

"Right, I'm really done," he went on. "Need to lie down."

He made his way to his bed and flopped down on it, laying on his back.

I sighed in relief. He was back home, and safe.

I wondered if I should leave now. I felt like staying longer would be an invasion of his privacy. But a very strong part of me did want to stay. Stay and take care of him.

"Yukinoshita," he muttered. "You don't need to trouble yourself. I'll be all right. It's not the first time I've been in a sling."

I shook my head.

"It's no trouble at all. If it's not a problem… could I s-stay for a while?"

I could tell that even in his intoxicated state, this was not something he had expected to hear.

"Suit yourself," he said. "Never thought the day would come when I'd welcome someone in my house. But I guess there's a first time for everything."

Lying down seemed to have helped. His speech was slightly more stable, and he seemed a little bit more in his senses.

I smiled slightly and sat down on his bed next to where he lay.

"Indeed, there is," I said. "I never thought I'd meet someone who'd save me twice in two weeks."

"Really? He sounds like a riajuu bastard to me. Probably doing it to get in your pants."

This time around, I wasn't flustered by his comment. I'd come to realize that without his regular filter on him, high Hikigaya kun wasn't afraid to be a bit lewd in his sense of humour.

I also realized this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Oh, he isn't a riajuu. The exact opposite. And maybe I _want_ him in my pants."

I had never seen a guy high on painkillers _and_ lost for words at the same time. Until now.

He pinched himself.

"It's not a dream," I said.

"... I guess I thought that as the only way I'd hear something like that in my life," he replied.

Somehow, hearing that hurt. Knowing that he looked down on himself that much.

"Why do you think so little of yourself?"

"I don't," he replied. "I know what I'm worth. I know better than-"

"No, you don't. You have no idea what you're worth."

I drew closer to him, leaning down till my face was inches from his.

"Y-Yukinoshita…."

"Shh."

From this close, what I had noticed before became even clearer.

Hikigaya kun was handsome. Not in a way casuals would notice, mind you. He has sharp, angular features. A strong, cut jawline. His lips glistened very slightly, invitingly. And his eyes. Ah yes, I can imagine he has been the subject of a lot of ridicule for them. But that only serves to show how most people want what they can easily obtain. Hikigaya kun's eyes were beady, the sockets under them shadowed. They weren't boyscout eyes, and certainly, they made it hard to tell what he was thinking. But if one looked properly, they'd see the wonderful light in them. The way they glowed, just a little, when he felt hope.

Like right now.

I had felt his body against mine when he had grabbed me and pushed us out of the way of the car. He was wiry and lean, but he did have some muscle. Not enough to stand out in a crowd, but I felt safe in his arms. The t shirt he had on revealed his collarbone, and the hard lines of his chest.

I placed my hand on it, revelling in the feel of him as I ran my hand down his torso, over his firm abs.

Lower down still, he was wearing shorts.

I had to struggle to keep my hands from wandering there too.

No, I'd wait till he was in his senses.

Hikigaya kun meant a lot to me, and I'd never force him into anything.

But with him this close to me, I realized my body _wanted _him.

I was craving him, in a way that went beyond curiosity or appreciating his kindness.

This feeling was new to me. But I very much liked it.

Leaning in even closer, I planted my lips for a second against his, enjoying the momentary taste of him.

"Rest easy, Hikigaya kun. You're safe." 


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Hello. It's been a while since I've updated this fic. Mostly because work is kinda sorta leaving me pretty drained. A lot of my evenings are spent playing DMC 5 and Monster Prom. Good times, good times. But, we were in the middle of a story, and the story should be told, so here we are! With an update! A brand new chapter!

I don't want to answer all the questions in the comments, mainly because I want to leave some mystery in the story, but here is what I'll say.

So far, it's been mostly smooth sailing. What you are experiencing now is how good Yukino and Hachiman are together. This is the part where they realize they want to be each other. The setup, if you will, of a happy life with each other. This chapter is meant to be the conclusion to that setup.

Once the setup is complete, well, this is a Yandere story. _That's_ when things might go dark.

You've been warned. But in the meantime, here is some sugary sweetness to make the lives of all of you (hopefully) a little better.

**Happiness Found**

**Yukino's POV:**

Hachiman awoke next to me. His eyes were so calm. Peaceful. These were the eyes of someone who had no enemies on this Earth. As if, in his perfect innocence, he couldn't conceive the thought of anyone or anything trying to hurt him. I realized I had never seen him like this. Not even when he had been high on the painkiller. Quickly, however, as the haze of sleepiness vanished, his expression changed. As if many memories had come rushing back to him. As if he had regained his alertness. Near instantly, the shadows I had grown familiar with returned under his eyes, but in contrast to his wariness, he was breathing fast, looking around.

Symptoms of anxiety.

I recognized them quickly.

Right away, I put a hand on his chest.

"Hikigaya kun."

He turned to look at me, surprised, shocked even, before relaxing, as the events of yesterday probably came to him again.

"It's all right," I said softly, smiling. "You're at home. I'm here. You're safe."

His breathing evened out, and his expression softened as he calmed down. Both those reactions came after I reiterated that I was here.

I see now. Despite the front he puts up, he is lonely. Uncertain, anxious. He's probably been like this for a long time, living in isolation. I recognize that, because that's how I lived as well. But no longer. I wasn't alone anymore, and neither was he. And he never would be, ever again.

"Yukinoshita," he murmured. "Did you-?"

"I spent the night here," I said. "Don't worry. Nothing happened. You slept the whole time. I decided to make us some breakfast."

"I see.

Did he seem relieved that nothing had happened, or disappointed?

It was hard to tell. I suppose he wasn't the type I could read just from body language. That only made him more interesting. What is a man if he cannot hold at least a few mysteries?

"Sorry," he said. "I caused you quite a bit of trouble, didn't I?"

"Not at all," I replied, allowing a slight smirk to show on my face. Pushing my luck, I touched him lightly on the nose. "I don't mind. I thought I made that perfectly clear yesterday."

His face was blank for a while as he tried to remember, and then, his mouth dropped open. I am guessing this is the part where he remembered that we had kissed.

"Yukinoshita…"

"Yeees?" I asked, drawing out the word, attempting to be teasing, as I'd seen so many girls do in television dramas I had seen in passing.

"Hngg…"

He fell back on the bed, clutching his chest.

"Hikigaya kun!"

I immediately checked his heart, worried that the painkiller had had some effect on his cardiac health.

"I'm all right," he murmured. "It's just that my nineteen years as a virgin are catching up to me."

"We can fix that," I said before I could stop myself. "We can fix that right away."

My eyes wandered down his body. It appeared that rumours of morning wood were true, and I was delighted to see that Hikigaya kun was carrying a sizable amount of timber where it counted.

He noticed where I was looking, and now his face was glowing red.

It was actually adorable how embarrassed he was. I had to do everything I could to keep myself from taking him right then and there.

Apparently, this feeling was mutual. Almost unconsciously, it seemed, he sat up in bed, so that his face was mere inches from mine.

_Yes. That's it. Come and give yourself to me._

Right when our lips were about to touch, however, he turned away.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest, a physical manifestation of the hurt I was feeling inside.

This did not go unnoticed by him.

"That's not what I meant!" he exclaimed, louder than I had expected.

I looked at him, waiting to hear what he was going to say.  
"It's just… I've never done this before. And… even if this sounds weak, I want to… I want to do it right."

His wording was poor, but his message was abundantly clear, his eyes expressing what his speech could not.

_I want a real relationship._

_**I want something genuine.**_

My heart warmed.

Even at a time like this, he refused to rush into it, on the risk that this would be something we would regret. He wanted to take his time, so that we could get to know each other.

And build something stronger than animal lust.

"I see," I answered. "Well then, we should start in the here and the now, Hikigaya kun. Stealing a maiden's first kiss isn't something to take lightly, you know."

I leaned closer to him, and whispered in his ear.

"_I'll have you take responsibility properly."_

He almost jumped slightly. But despite how nervous he must have been feeling, he smiled, making my heart beat faster.

"Heh. Well, if you're okay with me… then we could… you know, be together."

"That is the least I expect, after what happened. You have a tendency to put yourself at risk for my sake, Hiki-callous kun. I'll have to look after you, and make sure you don't hurt yourself. Perhaps I should lock you up inside this house, and keep you from exposing yourself to the dangers outside."

His eyes widened momentarily, and he spoke, as if he was in a trance.

"Make me miso soup every morning."

"Hikigaya kun?"

His words had, regrettably, gone over my head this time.

"Nothing. I momentarily saw a vision of an angel suggesting I become a househusband. If that offer is open, I'll eagerly acce-"

"Impossible," I said quickly, shutting him down. While the idea of having him safe inside a house was certainly appealing, it would not do to keep him from experiencing a proper, fulfilling life, and that meant studying, working, and being able to do the things he wanted, which in turn would mean going outside.

"Damn it," he said. "Ah well, it was worth a try."

We stared at each other for a moment, and I blinked a few times, before we both burst into laughter.

I could not remember the last time I had laughed like that: freely, without inhibition, without trying to put on a show. I could not remember the last time I had felt truly happy like I was at the moment… not until the time I had met him.

We locked eyes again, and found ourselves drawing closer again. This time, neither of us backed away.

His face was close enough to mine that I could smell him. There was a hint of that musky smell that men possess. It certainly wasn't unpleasant in the least. His normally guarded eyes had a shine to them. I realized this was him being as open as he could at the moment, and the fact that he trusted me enough to choose to do so for me… meant a lot.

I closed the distance between us, and for the second time, my lips touched his. But this time, I didn't draw away after just a moment. The contact lasted, lingering, as we both softly pressed against each other. My heart sped up as he leaned in, deepening the contact, taking my upper lip with both his own. In response, I tugged at his, nibbling lightly.

It was certainly not as chaste as what we had shared the previous night. Perhaps loneliness is a more powerful aphrodisiac than people give it credit for.

But it wasn't blind lust either. There was genuine passion in it, and I could feel in his touch everything he hadn't learnt to put into words.

We pulled apart, and I smiled at him, which he returned. His cheeks were slightly red, but he seemed happy, and that made me happy.

"College isn't for another hour. Get freshened up, and then come have breakfast," I said.

I got off the bed and decided to give him the room to himself while I laid out the plates. Unsurprisingly, Hachiman's apartment had some stock of the basic necessities when it came to food, so I was able to make a satisfactory meal, if nothing else.

Fifteen minutes or so later, Hachiman emerged from his room. The wet sheen to his hair announced that he had taken a shower, and he was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a full-sleeved navy blue t-shirt. Ah yes: the basics, when executed properly, are more than enough.

I had already taken the liberty of showering earlier. I didn't have any fresh clothes to change into, so I simply put on the garments I had been wearing at the time of the incident the previous day. It wasn't what I'd prefer, but I was feeling at least a little fresher after cleaning myself up.

Hachiman joined me at the table.

"Itadakimasu."

His eyes lit up as he looked at the food, and with visible enthusiasm, he took a bite of the ham sandwich I had made.

One of the consequences of having spent some time abroad was that I had adopted a few eating habits from the West, with the result that a lot of the meals I made myself were either Western, or a mix between Japanese and Wester cuisine, which is what I preferred. I could do a traditional meal in either style if I wanted (and my _family_ would probably have a seizure if they knew I didn't), but I liked doing things my own way.

"This is… really good. Like… are sandwiches even supposed to taste this good?" Hachiman said through a mouthful of food.

This response was so pleasing, I didn't even bother pointing out that he should chew first, talk later.

"They can, if you know how to make them right," I replied.

He tried some of the stuffed omelette, and turned to me with a serious expression on his face.

"This is illegal. How am I supposed to go back to the stuff I make after eating this?"

"You could always let me move in, in which case I could cook for you everyday," I said quickly in a small voice, more as a joke than anything. Although it was something I'd love to do, I could think of a billion reasons why such a move might make life difficult for both of us, and most of them had to do with what other people might think, say or do.

I looked up at him, expecting him to look flustered, which was the natural response considering we were both very new to this, but to my surprise, there was a light dusting of red on his cheeks, and his eyes, though wide, looked at me intensely.

"Is that…" he began… "there's… I mean…"

He was stumbling over his words.

I quickly tried to analyse what might be going on in his head.

Of course, it's difficult to completely get rid of all one's inhibitions and barriers right away. He trusted me, and he wanted us to be closer, but it would take time for him to open himself up fully. I could sense that he was indeed interested in the idea of us living together. Enough that he was right now seriously considering it. But he was afraid to go through with such a thing, undoubtedly because he had realized the problems we would face if we were to do so.

That was all right. I can be patient. Trying to rush does more harm than good. I'll wait until…

"Do you really mean that?" he said softly, interrupting my thoughts.

This time, it was my turn to be shocked.

I swallowed, and licked my lips, which felt dry.

"Yes," I answered, slightly nervous myself now.

Hachiman closed his eyes, face slightly scrunched up. He seemed to be thinking a lot of things over. I could almost see the gears turning in his head.

"It's not impossible," he muttered, seemingly more to himself than to me. "There's nothing against rooming with someone in the rules here. I've been here a few months. Did I commit any big screw ups? None that I can think of. Maybe, if I tried… I could make it happen…"

He was thinking of the ways in which he could actually make this happen. Probably going over all the ways he could approach his landlord about this.

I smiled slightly. It was endearing how far he was willing to go. But I also knew that he wasn't thinking straight. For all his caution and analytical ability, getting into a relationship had immediately knocked him out of his regular orbit.

That was perfectly okay.

Just as he was willing to look out for me time and again, I was here for him too.

"Hikigaya kun," I said, as gently as I could. "It's all right. I'm not going anywhere. We'll see each other everyday. There's no need for you to potentially turn your landlord against you."

I didn't mention the fact that the apartment where I lived was owned by the Yukinoshita family, and I could bring whoever I wanted back home, without worrying about any landlords.

Unfortunately, the staff there was loyal to my _lovely_ parents, not me. They would hear about it soon enough if I brought a man back to stay the night, and the results would be… _inconvenient._

No, to do this right, I'd have to be more cautious.

I smiled at him.

For now, just knowing he felt the same way about me, and being able to see him everyday, being able to touch him, cook for him, make happy, that was enough.

_For now._

He calmed down, shooting me a quick smile before returning to his meal.

We finished the rest of breakfast in pleasant silence, and Hachiman insisted on doing the dishes himself, saying I'd already done plenty for him. When he was done, we decided to go to college together.

Hachiman's apartment was fairly close to the campus, so it didn't take us long to walk there. It was a pleasant morning, not very sunny, and there was a slight breeze blowing. We walked mostly in silence. I took that as a good sign. We didn't need to constantly say something just for the sake of saying it. It meant we enjoyed each other's company as we were, without trying to be anything we were not.

When we walked past the gate, we realized we had to part for a while. He and I had classes in different parts of the campus.

He looked reluctant to leave, an expression which I'm sure was mirrored on my face too.

"So… I'll see you at lunch?" he said.

I nodded.

"Yes, you will."

There was another thing I had to do. Well, technically I didn't need to, since I had already gone through his files in the records room. But that wasn't something he needed to know. I had to ask him for this.

"Hikigaya kun… I realize a little late that I don't have your mail id or your phone number."

"A-ah, yes, that's true."

He took out his phone while I pulled out my own, and we exchanged devices, typing in our contact details for each other.

When we were done, we took our respective phones back.

Now, there was a new entry in my contact list.

_**Hikigaya Hachiman.**_

I looked up at him, and decided, being bold so far had worked out well. Once more couldn't hurt.

"Well then, I'll see you later, H-Hachiman."

He started slightly, but recovered.

"Sure, Y-Yukino."

My heart skipped a beat as he called me by my first name.

With that, we went to our own classes. The next few hours passed by slowly, seeming to almost be a crawl at times. However, the habits built up over the years meant that I paid attention and took notes where required. I had already covered a good portion of the course myself, so I was familiar with a lot of the material we were studying in class, though there was also quite a lot that was indeed new to me. This was Tokyo University after all, and here, it would be more accurate to call me a high achiever, and not an over achiever.

Eventually, however, classes did come to an end, and I proceeded to the cafeteria.

Here, I looked around a little, and spotted the one I was searching for.

I waved at him and began to walk over.

This action did not go unnoticed.

Hachiman was a loner in his course, and I in mine.

But plenty of people from both Economics and Literature went to the cafeteria for lunch after classes, and many of them noticed that neither of us were loners anymore.

I could hear their whispers, but ignored them. They meant nothing to me.

The only one who meant anything _wanted_ to be with me, and that was all I needed.

Smiling, I made my way over to him.

_**End of Part 1**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's note: Don't worry. This story is far from over, and I very much plan to continue it. This chapter is a little short, but please bear with me. Interesting stuff is coming soon. Without further ado, here it is: the beginning of Part 2!**_

**Part 2, Chapter 1: Welcome the Guest**

Attention is a funny thing. Some people seek it their entire lives, and die without ever having gotten much of it. Others try desperately to avoid it, but just can't seem to do so. Now those examples are interestingly appropriate, since attention seems, in general, to follow an inverse rule. The less you want it, the more you get it. Source: me.

Ah, I know what you're thinking. How can a loner such as myself claim to know anything about attention? After all, it's not like I've ever received it, unless I count that which I got from my family (and by that, I mostly mean Komachi). And you would be justified in asking that question! Up until quite recently, I was pretty much a nobody. Everything changed when I met _her._

Yukinoshita Yukino.

Elite level smarts and skiledl in everything she does. Unearthly beauty that would honestly put every girl band in Japan out of business if she chose to become an idol. A real life Ice Princess who seems like she stepped out of a story. And… my girlfriend.

We've been together for a month now. But it didn't take that long for people to notice. No, the thing is, folks have a tendency to observe all the things they don't need to, so the fact that we were together became known from the very first day. Of course, it's not as if she did anything to hide it. And neither did I. I didn't really see the point of pretending to be something I'm not. So we behaved normally with each other in college. The consequence being that everyone noticed right away, that the mysterious beauty from Economics (First Year), and the weird loner from Japanese Literature (First Year), were spending a lot of time together, and were seen almost exclusively in each other's company, when not in class. And, of course, being as fond of scandal and gossip as everyone is, they jumped right to a conclusion (which was in this case the right one), that being that we were together.

And being who we were, we studiously gave a certain number of fucks. I'll give you a hint: it's exactly one less than one.

But all of this is really exposition. Almost as if it were a clumsy attempt by a writer at bringing the readers up to speed on a story that hasn't updated in a while.

No, what really mattered, was that we were here, we were together. And that is where this tale picks up again.

For the first time in… ever, I was really, truly happy.

She lit up my world in more ways than I can say, and I was glad for every moment I spent with her.

"Hachiman, you're monologuing again."

I looked up the girl sitting sitting across from me at the cafeteria table. Her night black hair hung in curtains on both sides of her face, and ice blue eyes looked into my own.

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

"Sorry," I muttered. "Guess old habits die hard."

"Hmm. Perhaps I can help with that."

Getting up from her seat, she walked around the table, moving one of the chairs, and sat down right next to me, pulling her cup of tea over as well. From this close, I could feel her body heat, and her shoulder was brushing mine. I felt lighter, almost melting into this contradictory warmth created by the Ice Queen. My face was red, and I struggled to make eye contact. Despite having been together for a month, we were taking things slow, so touching was still a new thing to me, especially in public. Judging by the light blush on her face, she was in the process of getting used to it as well. However, she had a hint of a teasing smile on her face.

"This is unfair," I said. "I can't fight back against this kind of firepower."

"But of course, Hiki-unarmed kun. You lack the defences to take on a superior force such as myself."

A smile that was at once angelic and victorious made it on to her lips, and I could feel defeat closing in on me.

Of course, I am not the type to expend energy on going against the flow.

"Forgive me," I said. "I will accept my loss here then."

I reached out an arm, wrapping it around her far shoulder and pulling her closer, so that were both almost on the same chair now, without an inch of distance between us.

Her face was as red as mine now, as she tried to stammer out a response.

"H-Hachiman! That's too sudden!"

Aha. As in martial arts, use the opponent's momentum against them.

Complete victory, snatched from the jaws of defeat.

For a while, we just sat there like that, finishing our morning tea. It was nowhere near as good as what she brewed, but it wasn't half bad.

"I don't have work today," I said. I'd taken the day off, my first leave in quite a while.

"I only have morning classes today," she replied.

"Then do you want to…?"

"But of course."

We smiled, plan made to spend the evening at my apartment together. We had done this a few times since the time she had stayed over after the accident, but she had always gone home before it got too dark. I sorely wished she didn't have to, but we both knew it would be bad if my landlord somehow found out. I sometimes wondered if it was troublesome for her that everyone in college basically knew. Would word get around to her family? What was her family even like? She never spoke of them, and I never asked. But she always assured me that she didn't care if the world knew. That was enough for me. I'm not a brave person by nature, but for her… I felt like being brave.

I looked at the time on my phone. It was around 9:50, which meant we should really both be on our way to class.

"I'll see you later then… Yukino?"

She nodded, and we both headed to class.

It was when I arrived in the usual room for Modern Lit that I discovered that things were going to be a little different today.

The professor was already there, and most of the students were in their seats. I wasn't late, but there was a sense of anticipation and energy in the air. In addition to the people I already knew, there were several whom I had never seen before.I quietly made my way to one of the seats at the back, my preferred haunt, while I waited for class to begin. Five minutes later, the bell rang, signalling the start.

"All right, seems everyone is here," said Professor Okada, looking around once at us all. "We'll get right to it then. We have some guests here with us today. They're here from Chiba. I've mentioned in the past that our University recently partnered up with several other schools and colleges across the country. For the next few weeks, we will be having Open Classes, and they will be joining us for them! Why don't you all introduce yourselves?"

One by one, they all came forward and did so. I idly noted their names, mind occupied with the idea of these Open Classes. They'd just be sitting in with us? That was a curious program. Wonder what this collaboration was all about. Obviously, there'd be extra credits involved for these students who'd come over from their own institutes. Maybe this was some kind of exchange learning program? Did that mean we'd be going over to their colleges too? But then what about the schools the prof mentioned? Was this designed to be a sort of introduction to college level content for them? Was it to encourage more people to apply to Tokyo U?

I speculated for a while on possible causes, then ultimately decided to drop it for the moment. Everyone was done greeting the class, and all the guests were now moving up the dais, taking seats. I mostly ignored this, since it had nothing to do with me… until I became aware of a presence next to me. Turning, I saw a person standing, looking at me expectantly. It took a moment to register that she wanted me to give her some space so that she would step past and take the seat next to me.

Did I mention that attention comes to the unwilling?

Yeah, company and proximity also follow the same rule a lot of the time.

Still, it would have been rude to refuse, so I backed up a bit, and she passed by and sat down.

"Thank you," she said lightly.

"You're welcome," I muttered.

She seemed a little younger than me. Probably one of the high schoolers. Short auburn hair, brown eyes, and an energetic face with an expression that was far too angelic to be genuine. In fact, her entire demeanour was one I had seen countless times before.

This person was… an absolute fake. And a smart one. Probably a good manipulator, using cuteness as her tool. I'd seen quite a few girls like her at work in Sobu High, and a few in college as well. Fortunately, I had observed from a distance, and never gotten involved. Boy was that a smart decision.

Unfortunately, it seemed I had been staring too long.

She noticed, and turned her gaze onto me.

Her eyes remained neutral, but a thousand watts artificial smile lit up her face.

Slightly uncomfortable, I turned away and focused on my book, turning to the chapter we had stopped at last time.

The professor picked up where we left off, reading the text aloud, and stopping after significant lines to analyse and comment on what was happening in the book. I had a notebook out, and was jotting down the important bits as usual. This continued for a while.

"Mou, I don't get it!"

This, in a half-muttered, whining tone.

I turned to see the girl next to me looking frustratedly at the text. She had a notebook open as well, and I could see that she'd written down some of the stuff Prof. Okada had said, but it was clear most of this was going over her head.

Well, that wasn't surprising. There was quite a jump in the level from high school to college when it came to the texts we studied, and the way we analysed them. A student of literature really had to be a student of many things. History, culture, societal trends and norms, some amount of political science, and much more. That wasn't even counting awareness of various schools of thought and philosophy, which were used as tools to aid in analysis.

But of course, as far as my immediate situation went, I had already made an error.

I had reacted.

The simple act of turning and looking at her had given her the opening she wanted. In hindsight, that might have been what she was after to begin with.

"Senpai, help me!" she half pleaded, half commanded.

A curious mix of older brother and good samaritan instincts were invoked, sealing my fate.

_Shit._

Even as I mentally cursed, I slid my notebook a few inches to the right, so that she could read what I had written. Prof. Okada did not take kindly to people talking during his class, so explaining aloud to her was out of the question. But I tended to write down additional comments of my own while taking notes, in order to provide context and make things easier to understand for myself. Since one might be out of touch with a book before end of term tests, having notes that basically provided a summarized and explained version of the text paid off.

It would be difficult for her to understand all of it, but she was better off than before, and seemed to be following along to an extent now as we proceeded.

Two hours later, the lesson ended, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. I put away my books, and prepared to leave.

"Senpai! Thanks, you really saved me there!"

I looked at her.

She had that manufactured, cutesy look on her face. To be fair, despite being fake, she still _looked_ adorable, and might possibly have caused quite a few responses in me, if she'd met me a month ago. But now I had the double protection of being a cautious type, and already being committed to a girl.

In other words, everything in my system was telling me it would be best to interact as little as possible with her.

"Don't mention it," I said, and got up. As I was walking away, I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"Senpai! Wait up!"

_Shit._

I pretended not to hear her, but she caught up to me.

"Geez, slow down a little! I didn't even get your name. I'm Isshiki Iroha, by the way."

"Hikigaya Hachiman," I replied.

"You really know your stuff, huh? I couldn't understand a word of what was happening till I saw your notes."

"They're just college level notes. Anyone in this class could share theirs with you. So if you're having trouble, just ask someone-"

"Then you'll help me out from now?"

_Shit! I said "anyone", and you pick me?_

"I'm not the top student here. I'm pretty sure you'd benefit a lot from talking to-"

"Eh, Senpai, I'm not looking to ace this class, just understand it. I'd rather take your help. Unless… you don't want to offer it?"

She deliberately used a certain tone, and I knew she was exaggerating her need and vulnerability to play on my weakness.

Still, a lifetime's worth of being a doting brother doesn't go away easily.

"Sigh. Okay, fine. I'll help. Just refer to my notes during class, and study at home. You should be fine. Don't copy them though. Duplicate answers will get you failed."

"Get us both failed, you mean."

"Nope," I said, unable to keep the smugness out of my grin. "Between me and you, it's obvious who is copying whom. So the only one who's going to be worse off is you."

She then said a word that rhymed uncannily with "duck,", but I pretended not to hear it.

"I see. Well, then, I look forward to your help, Senpai!"

She had reverted to her bright persona after her momentary lapse.

I had another class to attend before I could call it a day, and it appeared the guests would be sitting in on this one too. Since I was headed there anyway, Isshiki decided to go with me.

I found it curious that she wasn't with the other Open Class students. She couldn't be the only one here from her school.

The next class was Classical Literature, and here, even more than before, Isshiki would have been at sea without something to guide her. It was honestly kind of sad to see: she seemed smart enough, it was just that she was unprepared for the jump in level. To be expected when school students are thrown into a college environment, extra credit class or no. Once more, I shared my notes with her.

This time, however, as I did so, I noticed the reactions of several of the other guests. In general, many of them kept shooting her annoyed glances. It took only a moment for me to put two and two together.

_This girl isn't very popular, is she?_

Most of the people throwing her the dirty looks were other girls. Her charms seemed powerful enough, so I was sure she had plenty of boys wrapped around her fingers. Which might explain precisely why the girls didn't seem to like her one bit.

The Classical Literature Teacher, Professor Goto, was more easygoing than Professor Okada, at least when it came to people talking in his class, so I was able to whisper to Isshiki.

"I never got around to asking. What institute are you from, Isshiki?"

"Eh? I'm from Sobu High School, in Chiba."

My eyes widened in surprise.

Sobu High?

And she's probably a senior there. Which means… she would have been there when I was a student at Sobu too! A year younger than me.

_Well, that at least explains why I don't remember her face. I didn't really pay much attention to anyone not in my class._

"Come to think of it, Senpai looks kind of familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

"Nope. I just have one of those faces."

"Uh, no you don't, Senpai."

I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"Right."

Still, the not-so-warm attitude of the others towards her explained why she chose to sit next to me of all people, instead of with any of the others who had come here from Sobu. Thinking of that, I honestly felt bad for her for a moment.

I realized sometime during my time in Sobu, that high schoolers are extremely self-absorbed. They exist in a sort of bubble, believing that their troubles and their actions affect the entire world, that they are massive in their scope and consequences.

While it is true that even a high schooler's actions can have massive consequences, for the most part, they are small events. A lot of the times, the mistakes teens make aren't really that big of a deal.

Not true in all cases, but a lot of the times.

What I'm getting at, is that from what little I had seen of Isshiki, she was a spoiled, manipulative brat. But nothing worse than that. She was still young, and there was plenty of time to change, if she was inclined to do so. Come to think of it, the whole reason she was like this might be because of how she was treated in the first place. Source: A certain middle schooler who was pretty much treated like garbage after a failed confession.

Maybe that's why, I felt a little protective.

I didn't really want to get involved any further with her, but just leaving things as they were would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Still, lecturing her directly wouldn't make a difference. Heck, it might even make her do the exact opposite of whatever I said. I know I wouldn't have enjoyed being told what to do by some person I'd never met before.

With all this in mind, I spoke.

"Isshiki… what do you think of college so far?"

She seemed slightly taken aback by the question.

"Eh? That's kind of sudden… it's not bad, I guess? The atmosphere is different from school. Less…"

"Restricting?" I suggested.

She nodded.

"Exactly! It's like no one's really telling you to do anything. Like you're free to decide, on your own. Come to think of it, people seem more open too?"

Ah, good. She was quite perceptive. That would make my job easier.

"I agree," I said. "College is a good chance to start over, with a clean slate. One could be anything one wanted. Pretty cool, huh?"

She blinked twice.

"Where did that come from?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"Forget about it. Call it the rambling of someone who thinks too much."

With that, I returned my attention to what Professor Goto was saying. Out of the corner of my eye, though, I caught sight of Isshiki's face, and she looked deep in thought.

I couldn't quite keep a little smile from making its way onto my face, though I made sure she didn't see that.

Soon afterwards, the class ended, and I packed up my books and stationery, and began to make my way out of the room. Isshiki hurriedly gathered up her things, and followed.

"Senpai, thanks for today."

I nodded.

"No problem. Make sure you put in some work at home. You seem like a smart girl. I think you could do pretty well."

She made a show of backing away with an exaggerated gesture, hands held up defensively.

"Senpai… did you just try to hit on me? I'm sorry. I appreciate you helping me, but playing the cool older student card won't work on me. Please try again harder-"

"I'm not hitting on you," I replied patiently.

It was very clear that she knew this, but still chose to say it.

"Eh? It's all right, Senpai. There's nothing to be ashamed of. You-"

At that point, I tuned her out.

We were near the main gates now, and I had caught sight of a certain someone I was supposed to meet here.

Yukino waved at me, and I returned the gesture.

Now, I'm not the vindictive type, but I can't deny that it did me all kinds of good when I saw Isshiki's jaw drop out of the corner of my eye.

Speeding up a little, I walked over to her.

"Yo."

"Hachiman, while I like the idiosyncracies in your speech, I do think you could do with offering a proper greeting."

"I could," I replied. "But then I wouldn't be me."

We stared at each other for a while, before we both laughed.

These "verbal spars" were becoming more frequent, and more enjoyable. It was just another way in which we enjoyed each other's company.

It was around this time that I became aware that Isshiki was _still_ around.

I was about to introduce the two of them to each other, when I noticed the look on Yukino's face,

So you know that feeling that writers keep mentioning? The one where your blood seems to freeze in your veins?

Yeah, I got a first-hand taste of that.

It'd been a while since I'd seen this face.

The same one she'd shown in the Literary Analysis classroom, when we'd spoken after I saw her being bullied.

And those eyes were staring right at Isshiki.


	9. Chapter 9

**Yukino's POV:**

It's cold. Bitingly so. A wind's blowing. Not hard. But it still feels like chilled steel passing through me. I have no option but to keep moving. My fur protects me, but only to an extent. Right now, it's keeping me alive. But I don't know for how much longer. I have to keep moving. If I stop here, the snow will rise, and I'll be buried, frozen forever. I keep walking. Eventually, the soft surface under my paws changes. Now, it is hard. I feel tiny twigs snap under me. Above, a canopy of trees paints an interesting picture against the night sky. But I cannot admire it. I need a place to take shelter for the night. But I cannot just curl up in any hollow. Things lurk here. The small dangers. The large dangers. All manner of beasts, waiting to consume all living flesh.

Just when I'm about to lose hope, my eyes, unerring as always, spot a flickering light in the distance. I know what that is. Fire. Fire is scary. It burns, obliterating flesh in a way no claws can. A slow, agonizing death. But fire is warm. I need warmth. Throwing caution to the winds, I begin to move in the direction of the light. And then, something incredibly happens. For as long as I remember, it has always been night here. It has always been snowing. I have been trudging through this wasteland. I have a vague memory of a time before the night. A time when I was happy. I also remember that happiness being a lie. And since then, I've walked here, alone.

But as I approach the light, it seems to grow. It spreads, and it is as if the darkness is pushed back. It's so bright: enveloping the world. And I can remember clearly now: morning exists. If I can survive the night… I can face the sun again.

So I walk towards the light. The heat forces away the cold. I can feel the blood flow through my body. The numbness in my limbs starts to melt away. And eventually, I am finally close enough, that I can see the fire for what it is.

It burns in a clearing of this forest. A bonfire, rough, fuelled by broken branches. But I could care less for its ragged appearance. It is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

For the first time since the night began, I am not alone.

I feel a connection to the fire.

Almost as if it was waiting.

It must have been lonely too.

Burning alone, all this time.

Maybe, we were meant to find each other.

Yes, I was meant to come here. I was meant to find this fire. I was meant to live here forever, in its warmth.

I settle down close to it, content to lie on the ground and close my eyes. I feel a deep peace in me, as I cannot ever recall feeling ever before.

And then, that happiness is disturbed.

It's a small disturbance.

Barely a patter. No louder than raindrops. But I hear them all the same.

Footsteps.

I look up, and I see… a fox.

A brown fox, also at the edge of the clearing.

She approaches.

Right away, I am cautious. I spring to my feet, back raised, claws extended. This fox is not welcome here. I alone can live in the warmth of this fire.

I can see she is scared. But she looks behind her, also with fear.

Beyond the clearing, I hear growls.

This foolish fox! She has led the wolves here!

But no, wait.

The hungry pack does _not_ approach.

I can see their eyes, glowing in the dark. And they are receding, moving further and further away from us.

They dare not enter the clearing.

They're… afraid of the fire?

I glance thankfully at this flame.

The fox, in the meantime, seems to have decided that the wolves are a greater threat than I am. Keeping her distance from me, but still remaining close to the fire, she lies down, and a feeling of peace comes over her face as she closes her eyes.

I recognize that expression right away.

That looks like the kind of peace I was just experiencing.

And at that moment, anger boils within me like nothing I have ever felt before.

How dare she.

How dare this fox come here, and try to feel a happiness reserved for _me._ She comes here… intrudes on _my_ privacy? Steps into _our_ world? A world where there is only the fire, and me.

She dares, she dares lie here, in this sacred place?

Like an eyesore.

Like a rotting carcass.

I feel a violent urge come over me. It would be easy to end her life. I am bigger. Faster than any snow leopard. Stronger than any housecat. With claws that can remove her insolent heart from her chest.

Yes, that sounds nice.

I can eat her here.

I haven't hunted in a while. Not since I maimed those three pigs.

But as I am about to approach her, I notice that the fire itself does not react to her.

If I reject every particle of the fox's existence, the fire seems… compassionate. Not in a personal way. I cannot feel the same connection between it and her that the fire has with me. But it still warms her. Maybe that is just who it is.

A fire burns.

And a fire warms.

It does not differentiate between two people, who both need its warmth.

Maybe that's why, I force myself to drown my disquiet. For now, I will tolerate the fox. I will do it only for the fire, because it seems eager to help her as well.

Even as I make that decision, I am comforted by the fact that no one else will have a bond like the one I have.

But if so… why do I feel so uneasy?

I rest, but it is now no longer blissful.

My eyes open, and I sit up in bed. Breathing: even. I'm calmer than I might have expected. I should be able to return to sleep. As I lie back down, I am able to recall the details of the dream. It had been… _unusual_, to put it mildly.

I was aware that in classical psychology, there were certain meanings that dreams were believed to have. Some schools of thought proclaimed that dreams are a reflection of one's subconscious, or unconscious mind. One's desires. Others spoke of how they might be indicators of one's fears.

I am mentioning all of this from a purely anecdotal viewpoint.

I do not put a lot of faith in psychology.

A dream, to me, is just a dream.

But as I closed my eyes, I couldn't help but wonder, if maybe, this one had had some significance. Normally, a dream were I was some manner of feline would be quite welcome. But this one was not just a happy dream. There was more to the story. And as a student of Literary Analysis, my task, was to understand that story.

Recently, certain… _disturbances_ had found their way into my life.

And by that, I refer to an annoying brat who revolves around Hachiman like a lost puppy. Of course, that is her act. Anyone with sharp eyes and a working brain can see that she's really… a _fox._

Huh. That's interesting.

Maybe the dream _did_ mean something.

Still, it had given me no answers.

I knew for a fact that Hachiman wasn't interested in her in the least. No, he has eyes only for me. But I can recognize a problem when I see one. I demanded to know who this girl was.

His explanation matched my own observations.

Isshiki Iroha, as she was named, was one of the high schoolers who had come over on the Exchange Learning Program. There were a few in my own classes as well. Isshiki was a bright enough girl, but not exactly prepared for a college level literature course. This was what Hachiman himself said. Of course, that made sense. This was probably some kind of extra credit opportunity for her, and she came in without having put in the study, banking on her ability to lean on somebody and get through it. Close to zero effort, close to maximum results.

Absolutely despicable.

Hachiman, as I had noticed from the beginning, is kind.

Too kind for his own good.

I cannot blame him for any of this. He simply saw someone in need of help, and decided to offer it.

No, the problem was Isshiki Iroha herself. From her mannerisms, from what Hachiman had told me of how she spoke, how she had asked for (demanded) help, and how she had reacted when he gave it, I already knew more than enough about her.

She was a bottom of the barrel, unadulterated, one hundred percent pure sample of first grade excrement.

And I wanted her nowhere near Hachiman.

Just to be clear, I do not believe for a second that he would ever look at anyone else.

But I am the sort of person who prefers to perform pest control in addition to being vaccinated.

Still, I had no immediate solutions available to me.

Isshiki was cunning, this much I was sure of.

I might not be able to get rid of her the same way I had taken of those three pigs from my class.

I'd need a different method. And being hasty was not a good idea. It wouldn't do for Hachiman to see something _unsightly_.

I went back to sleep. Rest was important. I needed to have my brain operating properly to solve all these problems.

**Hours later:**

Despite the unwanted awakening in the middle, I had managed to get decent sleep. I felt loose and limber, the morning workout went as well as it did on any other day. The focus was on resistance training and time under tension, with some mobility exercises added in. I bathed, got dressed and ate, then left for college.

I had already investigated Hachiman's apartment, and his typical movement patterns on campus, so I had no morning detours to make. I walked at a leisurely pace, arriving around half an hour before classes, as I normally did. I decided to wait outside the cafeteria. Sure enough, a few minutes later, I spotted a familiar figure walking towards me, shoulders hunched up as usual.

Hmm. Perhaps it would be a good idea to introduce him to a proper training routine. It might improve his posture. But then again, at this point, it's an inseparable part of him, and endearing in its own way. Besides, I can attest from personal experience that Hachiman is in better shape than he looks with his clothes on.

I shake my head slightly to empty it of thoughts of what I would like to do with him in private. It wouldn't do to get carried away first thing in the morning.

He is now mere feet away, and as he closes the rest of the distance, he raises a hand and gives me his usual greeting.

"Yo."

I feel a smile threatening to break out on my face, and ultimately allow it to surface.

"Good morning."

Without waiting for a response, I move forward and grasp his hand. Right away, I am rewarded with the pleasant sight of his cheeks growing red. It's honestly adorable how easily he gets flustered at things like this.

"You're a bit more forward than usual," he notes, trying to sound analytical in an attempt to hide how he just lost his cool.

I decide to play along with it. He is not wrong. I don't normally initiate physical contact right away as soon as we meet, first thing in the morning. But there is no reason not to, is there? I couldn't really see anything strange about it.

"Would you prefer I not be?" I ask, drawling out the words in an attempt to sound teasing.

"I didn't say that," he answers, a bit quickly. "Not complaining at all."

Giggling slightly, I draw closer to him, and he pushes in to deepen the contact as our shoulders brush.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a few other students stare at us before ultimately looking away. Initially, we had attracted quite a lot of attention when it became known we were in a relationship. As a matter of fact, I still feel there is an unhealthy amount of discussion regarding our private life. But, as with all things, regular exposure eventually leads to adaptation, and so, the constant stares eventually turned into momentary glances.

This is how things had been for a while now.

I was well aware that we were still a topic of discussion, and word of our relationship had only spread further. But I was the happiest I had ever been in my life, so I could care less.

"I get free at the regular time today," he said.

"That seems fine. Your apartment as usual, then?"

"Yes."

With a quiet hum of assent, I let it go at that. We spent a few moments with him showing me some new manga he had started reading recently. Since my initial forays into the medium had been satisfactory, I had dabbled around a bit on my own. Though I was disappointed with the vast majority of titles, I had found a few more gems. Hachiman was likewise selective with what he read, and what he was showing me now proved it.

"The art, while a little exaggerated, conveys weight and power nicely," I said. "It is also quite faithful to real life martial arts."

"That's one of the things that makes Kengan Ashura so good," he said. "Every fight, despite the more fantastical elements, feels real and believable. But even aside from the action, it's impressive that there is such a large cast of characters, each of who feels alive, and has both virtues and vices."

"Sigh. I had not believed I would ever be convinced to read a two hundred chapter long story that is essentially just a tournament arc. But you managed to do it. I shall give it a try."

He smiled slightly in response.

"Well, we could do it in class today."

Ah yes. We had Literary Analysis that afternoon.

Despite the… circumstances… behind that class, it did have its benefits. I would not have met Hachiman at all without it. And it also gave me time to spend with him in college itself. And we were the only two people in that class, so there were no intrusions.

It was with this vision of a pleasant afternoon ahead that I went through my morning classes. Our schedules were slightly different today, so I ended up having lunch alone. With that taken care of, it was with a good deal of eagerness that I made my way towards the secluded building where Literary Analysis was held.

As I walked towards the door of the room, I could hear voices coming from within.

Immediately, I became alert.  
As I got nearer, I was able to distinguish the uniquely annoying sound of Isshiki's voice, and at this point, I was seeing red.

_Calm. Stay calm._

I took a deep breath, and put on my regular visage, albeit it took some conscious effort this time. I slid open the door, and both the occupants of the room turned to look at me. Now, while I am no Oscar winner, I can be quite convincing in my mannerisms and expression when I want to be.

But then, Hachiman is more observant than the ordinary person.

I could see that he noticed right away, and shot me an apologetic look.

"Ah, Yukino," he said. "I got here a little early, and found Isshiki already in the room. It seems we finally have a third student in this class."

Translation: Be appeased. I did not bring this annoyance here of my own free will.

I nodded slightly, keeping the same smile plastered on my face.

"I see. Well, new company is always welcome."

Translation: Can't we get rid of her?

Hachiman flinched slightly, showing that he understood quite well what I meant.

"Ehehe, indeed. Well, guests don't stay forever, so let's try to make sure our kouhai learns at least something from us, right?"

Translation: She'll be gone when the exchange program is over. Please endure until then.

I sighed.

There was no choice.

Turning to Isshiki, I widened my smile just a fraction of an inch.

"Well then, Isshiki san. Welcome to Literary Analysis. I dare say you'll find this class a little unusual, but perhaps a welcome break from the rest of your schedule."

"Ah, thanks, Yukinoshita sempai. Speaking of which, there's no teacher here yet. Do they generally arrive late?"

I looked briefly at Hachiman before answering.

"The teacher has never been present during a single class so far."

Isshiki's eyes widened.

"Eeeeeh? But that's crazy! How do you guys study then? _What _do you guys study?"

I closed my eyes, a triumphant expression on my face.

"But of course, this is Literary _Analysis_. It is a class where we must dissect works of literature, with our own thoughts, and from our own points of view."

"So… you just sit here and discuss books?"

I felt a vein ticking in my temple, but managed to restrain my anger.

"That might be an oversimplification."

"Eh… are you guys really getting graded for this?"

My self control was gradually nearing breaking point.

Hachiman decided to intervene. He was all too aware that I wasn't _quite_ happy with Isshiki.

"If you have doubts, now is a great time to opt for another choice, Isshiki. I'm pretty sure the exchange program won't mind if you switch one class for another."

"A-ah, that's not what I meant! I was just a little surprised is all. Mou, Sempai, stop trying to get rid of me!"

This was it. This was the precise moment Isshiki graduated from being an annoyance to an object of disgust.

Hachiman looked deeply uncomfortable.

I have mentioned before that he is quite perceptive. No doubt, he knew quite well that everything about this girl was an act. Yet, he was also the type to help people. It appeared he just couldn't resist doing so.

Unacceptable. Not only was she deliberately playing on his weakness, but she was getting in the way of the time meant exclusively for us.

_Right. Change of plans. _

We spent the rest of the class discussing Kengan Ashura. I made no attempt to dissuade what Isshiki was doing. She definitely wasn't a fool, but she lacked the acute observation Hachiman possessed. Which meant, she hadn't quite caught on to how I felt about her presence here.

When the bell rang, I confirmed to Hachiman that I had a few more things to take care of, after which I would see him in the evening.

He replied that he'd be done with his job by then.

Isshiki seemed quite eager to make an exit with him, and this was exactly when I chose to intervene.

"Actually, how would you like to check out the Economics department? You're still in high school. Exploring different options is a good idea."

She didn't seem overly happy at the idea of not getting more time with Hachiman, but seemed interested in the offer nonetheless.

"That… seems worth checking out. All right, Yukinoshita Sempai! Lead the way!"

I nodded.

Hachiman looked puzzled, and even shocked at what had just happened.

I gave him a slight smile, meant to ease his worries, and he nodded in return, before we parted.

All right.

Phase 1 had been successful.

Without Hachiman around to protect her, I could get to work.

Violence is not my first choice.

As I have mentioned before, dead bodies are hard to dispose of, and leaving someone alive to spread word would lead to problems. Isshiki had no history of physical altercation with me, meaning I could not punish her the same way I had those three pigs.

No, I'll try a different way.

"So, Isshiki san. What school are you from?"

"Eh? Ah, I'm from Soubu High in Chiba."

_Soubu High? Chiba?_

Well, well. Haven't heard those names in a while.

My father's business has quite the stronghold in Chiba, actually. And Soubu High… well, that is the school _Nee san_ graduated from.

"That's quite an elite institution," I noted. "You must be a gifted student."

"I'm not bad, I suppose? But I'm not as good as you're giving me credit for, Yukinoshita Sempai. I'm barely in the top fifteen in my class."

_Oh? A decent student, but far from the top. An otherwise average member of her class, then. What else can I learn about her?_

"Well, academics are not the only measure of a successful high school life. My sister had a prolific time with many different clubs when she was your age."

"Ah, clubs are fun! I was the manager for the Soccer Club in my second year. It was a tough job! But it definitely had its fun moments."

_Soccer Club… Soubu High… wait._

This was a stroke of fortune if I had ever had one.

Although it had to do with the single most odious person I knew.

"Hmm… Soubu High's Soccer Club did quite well in regional tournaments, did it not?"

"Yeah, we were champs two years in a row. How did you know that, Yukinoshita Sempai?"

"My sister is a Chiba resident, and an avid follower of quite a few of Soubu's sports teams, being an alumnus of that school."

"Eh, your sister was in Soubu? That's incredible! Do I know her?"

"I do not think so. She would have graduated before you joined. But you might know a family friend of hers, Hayama Hayato."

"Eeeeeh!? You know Hayama Sempai?"

_And bullseye._

"I've met him a few times in the past," I said. This was true. "What was he like?"

"He was the best ever! The ace of the team, the star striker who could play midfield as well. He was great at studies too, and friendly with everyone. I don't think there was a single person at school who didn't like him."

_Enthusiastic, but overall neutral praise, meant to conceal the fact that you were quite close to him._

_But Hayama Hayato was not interested in you._

_A one-sided crush then._

_Yes, that is more likely._

_With him as the star striker, and you as the manager, you could have spent any amount of time with him._

_I doubt the rest of Soubu's female population would have been happy about that._

_Which leads me to my conclusion… _

"You aren't very popular at school, are you, Isshiki san?"

Enlargening of the eyes. Constriction of pupils. Slackening of jaw. Mouth hangs open. A brief stutter before she begins to speak.

Yes, I have discovered her inconvenient truth.

"W-what makes you say that, Yukinoshita Sempai?"

"Oh, just a guess. You seem like a capable enough person. Smart and able to get a job done. You also seem like you prefer to follow your own approach. People like that generally aren't very well-liked by their peers, despite the fact that they can get results."

"Talk about accurate," she muttered. Perhaps my analysis was able to get her to discard her facade to an extent. "But yes, you're right. The other girls in class can be pretty mean sometimes."

_Oh, don't sell yourself short, Isshiki. You are quite cruel yourself._

"Ah, my sympathies. I was wondering why someone like you was alone. I would expect you'd join the exchange program with some friends."

"I did!" she whined. "But…"

She bit her lip, clearly unwilling to say more.

"... they pretty much ran me off…" she muttered under her breath.

_Ah. Interesting._

Obviously, these "friends" of hers were boys.

And the ones who "ran her off" must be the other girls from Soubu who had signed up for the exchange program.

Everything was clear now.

She had most likely chosen Literature classes because she had been counting on the help of certain students to get a good grade. But, the other girls, having realized her plan, would have unceremoniously told her to get lost.

Without anybody to leech off of, she was lost now, out of her depth.

This is where Hachiman comes in.

A college student with above average grades? Far superior to some high school senior with less experience.

I can just picture how she thought it might be a great form of revenge.

Being able to secure a higher grade than the ones who chased her off and left her to fend for herself.

Hachiman, of course, was only helping her because it was in his nature to help people in need of assistance. He was probably not aware of the whole circumstances behind her approaching him, but definitely knew she was only using him for his notes. Of course, it is most likely he pities her, and so helps her anyway.

Of course, there is also the matter that Hachiman is also an alumnus of Soubu High.

But he was a loner at school.

People have terrible eyesight when it comes to seeing the ones who are truly amazing, so he would have been an unnoticed nobody, for which I am thankful.

It would have been an annoyance to get rid of a horde of filthy insects trying to crawl all over him.

It is extremely unlikely Isshiki even noticed Hachiman at Soubu, especially seeing as she was enamoured by Hayama.

No, this was a purely practical decision, made without any awareness of the fact that she might have seen him before.

Hmm.

Yes, I have learned plenty.

More importantly, she's interacting freely with me.

From here, the rest will be easy.

Interesting fact: I had, a short while ago, acquired a sound recording app. It was useful for listening in on some of Hachiman's conversations, and also for keeping audio files of his voice for my own listening. I had also mapped the launch of this app to holding down the screen lock button for three seconds. Snaking my hand inside my bag and activating the app now was very easily done, and all without being noticed.

Out loud, I asked a question.

"Come now, Isshiki san. You can be honest with me. Isn't it difficult dealing with so many… _annoyances?_"

As I say that last word, I think of her, and that thought allows my face to morph into the appropriate expression of disgust. Perhaps that expression was universal and genuine enough that it broke the last remaining barriers between us, and allowed Isshiki to reply honestly.

"You don't know the half of it. Dealing with these idiots day in and day out. I don't even know what they have against me."

"What _do _they have against you?"

"I don't know!" she half whined. "Well, honestly, I think they might be jealous of the fact that I got to spend a lot of time with Hayama sempai? I mean, obviously, nothing happened between us, but can you imagine how frustrating it must have been for people who can't comprehend that? I mean, did it occur to them that the reason they never were able to spend time with him was because they didn't have the guts to talk to him? Or, I don't know. As kind as he was, it might have been the fact that they were all so… _basic_. I'm sure even the kindest person in the world has a point he's not willing to be bored beyond."

"Hmm. It's understandable that girls might be jealous, but I'd think there would be more than a few boys who'd be eager to be friends with you."

"Hah. Friends. You're quite funny, Sempai. You know as well as I do that they have only one thing on their minds. And honestly, they can't even _pretend_ that they want anything other than that. You can practically _feel_ the thirst radiating from them. Honestly, part of me is glad for the exchange program. I don't have to pretend to be OK with them all the time anymore, and I get to hang out with some other people."

She then launched into a mini speech about how Hachiman and I were leagues better than anyone in her school, but I wasn't recording that. I had already gotten everything I wanted.

I let Isshiki vent for a little while longer, doing my best to play the role of the sympathetic elder student. I showed her around the Economics department, and we ultimately parted in the evening.

I went over to Hachiman's apartment thereafter, and we had a pleasant time, undisturbed by any foxes.

He again apologized for her intruding on us, but I waved it away.

It wouldn't be a problem any longer.

_[The following afternoon, a certain audio file with untraceable history was played across the college wide public announcement system. It was heard in the cafeteria, and in all the lecture halls and administrative rooms. It was heard by every student and teacher on campus, including those who had come from Soubu High as part of the exchange program. The aftermath of this incident would be too long to cover in detail, but let it be known that Isshiki Iroha was never quite the same after that. Following an explosive verbal outburst, several students were removed from campus, and the exchange program. Soubu had almost no history of physical violence, and this did not change. But then… who is to say that cold indifference cannot hit as hard as any fists?]_


End file.
